


We Can Save Tomorrow if we Try

by NyxEtoile



Series: Tales From the Tower [19]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Spoilers, Cute Kids, Domestic Avengers, F/M, Family Drama, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-13
Updated: 2016-08-16
Packaged: 2018-07-14 17:49:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 26,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7184000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NyxEtoile/pseuds/NyxEtoile
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Bruce kissed her hair. “If you want to get your Masters, I will support that. If you want to write the great American novel, or poetry, or children’s books, or time travel space adventures, I will support that. If you want to sit on the couch and eat potato chips, I will support that. If you want my help, I’ll give it, if you want me to butt out I can do that, too. And if you start feeling like you’re being selfish or that you don’t deserve to put yourself first, tell me and I will remind you how very wrong you are."</i>
</p><p>
  <i>She laughed and he swayed her back and forth a little, like they were dancing. “It’s good to see you smile,” he said softly.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>If she was honest, it felt good to smile. “I know it’s only March, but this year has kind of sucked.”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“It has,” he agreed. “And it’s possible it will get worse before it’s better. But we’ll get through it. Together.”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Violet leaned back to look at him. “When did you become an optimist?</i>
</p><p>
  <i>He smiled and cupped her face, running his thumb along her cheekbone. “I think it’s the company I keep.”</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the last couple-centric fic before our Civil War adaption, and later events do spoil some early events from the film. Individual chapters will have warnings on them. This also overlaps with Mysteries Explicit and Inherent, and the posting schedule may be a little haphazard as I attempt not to spoil one of the other.
> 
> Title is from the song Peace by OAR.

Parenthood changed a lot of things.

Bruce Banner had heard that phrase long before he’d become a father but had never truly appreciated how _many_ things changed with parenthood. There was the lack of free time, the shifts in priorities. The sudden need to watch your language and spell certain words you didn’t want your kids to hear. (And then the search for complex synonyms when you realize your genius daughter can pretty much spell everything.) The way children’s shows made you feel like your brain was melting while simultaneously raising some really troubling questions.

But the change that her really wished he could take back was the fact he had, somewhere along the way, become a morning person.

The sun hadn’t even risen when the light from the bathroom pierced his eyelids. Grumbling, he rolled over to put his back to the door. Violet was usually more thoughtful about the light, at least on mornings when he didn’t have to be awake for a meeting or the like. 

He’d just started to wake up enough to wonder if that should concern him when he heard her coughing. That was enough to get him to sit up and glance at the bathroom. Which was then he realized Violet was retching, not coughing.

**FLOWER SICK?**

Bruce sighed, swinging his legs out of bed and finding his slippers before heading to the bathroom. He knew Hulk knew Violet’s name. He’d called her by it on more than on occasion. Still, when he referred to her he always called her Flower. Bruce supposed it was a pet name of a sort, which was. . . kind of cute, in a way.

Sure enough, she was kneeling by the toilet, looking miserable. Swallowing a joke about being pregnant - not funny on any level - he crouched down and pressed a hand to her forehead, then her back. She was almost painfully hot to the touch.

“Were you feeling sick yesterday?” he asked, straightening to wet a washcloth.

She shook her head and fumbled for the toilet handle, flushing it. “A little tired, but that’s pretty standard.” He crouched again and dabbed her forehead with the cloth. Violet sighed and leaned into him.

“You got your flu shot?”

She nodded, taking the cloth from him to fold it over the back of her neck. “Amanda insisted. She came around and did me and all the kids around the end of September.”

Well, flu shots were a crap shoot, usually just a guess at which strains would be the most likely to sweep through. And there were some strains - especially stomach bugs - that defied vaccination. He pressed a kiss to her temple. “You ready to go back to bed? Or want to stay here to be safe?”

“Mmm, I think I’ll stay another minute.”

Giving her another little pat, he stood. “I’ll handle the kids and let everyone know you need a couple sick days. And see if I can get Amanda to come check on you.”

“Check on the kids, make sure they’re not sick, too.”

“Got it.” He felt a bit bad, leaving her there on the bathroom floor - the big guy in the back of his head wasn’t happy about it either - but hovering wouldn’t help her at all. Seeing to the needs of the kids would.

He pulled on a pair of jeans and a sweater and peeked as Asima in her crib. She was wrapped up in her knit blanket and quilt, snoring peacefully. With a little pat on her back, he left her to sleep and went to Ada’s room.

She looked startled, then suspicious when he poked his head in after knocking. “Where’s Mom?”

“She’s sick, how are you feeling?”

Ada paused a moment, as if doing a self assessment. “Fine.”

“No scratchy throat or upset stomach?”

She shook her head. “Do you want to take my temperature?”

He smiled a little. “I don’t think that will be necessary. Any preference on who I get to take you to school?”

Brightening, she pointed to something on her desk, “I can call Vision. He can do it.”

Following her finger, Bruce saw the little walkie talking Vision had modified so Ada could call for him whenever she wanted. It was a cheap thing from REI, with a top range of less than one hundred miles in ideal circumstances. Whatever Vision had done to it allowed her to talk to him when he was in Nepal at one point.

Bruce had stopped trying to figure out space rock magic.

“Call him and _ask_ ,” he told Ada. “If he’s busy I’m sure Thor or Jane can do it.” They tried to keep a low profile in dropping and picking up Ada at school. But it wasn’t exactly a secret who her family was. She’d been picked up by Tony in both the suit and the Bugatti. Steve had dropped her off once on the back of his Harley. And on more than one occasion she had arrived via thunderstorm with Thor. Flying purple android with a cape wouldn’t even rate a mention.

He left her attempting to arrange transport and went to the next door to check on Neil. The little boy was on the floor next to the bed looking pale and shaky. Not good.

“Hey, buddy,” Bruce said, coming into the room. “Feeling sick?”

Neil nodded and gestured to his bed. “I threw up.”

Ah. Well, that explained that. This was going to be a very long day.

He got Neil cleaned up in fresh pajamas and sheets and left him dozing. Downstairs, he started fixing Ada’s breakfast in between sending texts out. To Tony, to tell him he wasn’t going to be working today. To Pepper and Amanda to let them know Violet couldn’t watch their daughters. And finally to Neil’s teacher and therapists to let them know he was down for the count for a few days.

He then found himself on the group text of Amanda and Pepper trying to find someone else to watch the girls. Wanda volunteered almost immediately and he made a mental note to bring her some of the supplies Violet kept on hand on the assumption this would last a few days. They really needed to find Violet some sort of back-up, especially once Joey Rogers was old enough to stay with her.

Ada came down and he got her set up with her cereal and milk, then patiently packed her lunch to her specifications. Vision appeared in the doorway as she was scraping up the last few bites out of the bowl.

“I am available to transport Miss Ada to school,” he said before Bruce could check. “She wanted me to assure you she phrased it as an inquiry not a demand.”

Bruce glanced at Ada who blinked at him innocently. “Good. Go get your backpack and coat and go with Vision.”

She nodded and jumped up to run to the living room. Bruce looked back at the android. “Thanks for this. Everything falls apart when Violet is sick.”

He inclined his head. “Mrs. Marsh is clearly one of the lynchpins of this community. I hope that she feels better soon.”

**FLOWER IMPORTANT.** There was a surge of pride that came with that sentiment that made Bruce smile as much as Vision’s words did. “I’ll tell her you said so,” he told him. “Thanks.”

Ada appeared, back pack in hand and coat buttoned improperly, and went to Vision. He reached down, undid her buttons and rebuttoned them without comment. “Have a good day at school, Ada. I love you.”

“I love you, Dad!” she called, taking Vision’s hand and heading out the door.

He cleaned up after breakfast and made himself a cup of coffee and was toasting a bagel when there was a knock at the door. “FRIDAY, who is it?”

“Dr. Newbury-Barnes and Mrs. Bennet.” 

“Tell them to come in, please.” The bagel popped up and he started smearing cream cheese on it when Darcy came in, lugging a six pack of Gatorade and another one of Pedialyte.

“Amanda went up to check on the patients,” she said. “Told me to get these in the fridge.”

Bruce reached out to take them. “Thank you, Darcy.”

“No problem. You need anything else? Preferably not directly involving vomit?”

He smiled, shuffling things in the fridge so the drinks would fit. “Not at the moment. But can you make sure daycare for Ruby and Edie is in place for a few days? I don’t want Violet to rush going back to work if she doesn’t have to.”

“Sure. Wanda’s on board for today but I’ll talk to her and the moms to make sure it’s sustainable.”

When he had first met Darcy her bluntness had rubbed him the wrong way. It had taken him an embarrassingly long time to realize that while she could occasionally be abrasive she was intelligent and responsible and loyal to a fault. The compound here wouldn’t run nearly as smoothly as it did without her overseeing it.

“I appreciate it. I’ll probably send out a grocery order later today.”

She pulled out her tablet and tapped a few times. “I can expedite it, CC me on the email.”

God bless this little family they had.

Amanda came down a while later and pronounced it a stomach bug. “Violet couldn’t think of anything she’d eaten that Ada wouldn’t have also gotten. So assuming she doesn’t come home from school throwing up I think it’s viral. You know the drill, fluids and rest. Try the drinks we brought in about an hour. If they go over 6 hours without keeping anything down I’d like to do an IV to get on top of it.”

“Should I send Ada to Thor and Jane’s?” He couldn’t get sick, but it was probably a miracle that she wasn’t ill.

“Might be worth thinking about,” Amanda agreed. “If she’s still symptom free this evening a little quarantine can go a long way.”

“Thanks Amanda.”

She shrugged. “I know you could probably make the same diagnosis, but it’s always good to hear it from someone objective.”

“I’m a big fan of consults,” he told her with a smile. “And I know you’ve got a lot of free time on your hands.”

She made a hilarious face and shook her head. “Call me if you want to move to the IV. Tell Violet not to worry about work, Pepper and I worked it out with Wanda and we’re good as long as she needs.”

Well, that was one less thing on his to-do list. He thanked them both again and they went on their way. After eating his breakfast and scrolling through the middle of the night emails Tony had sent he brought drinks up to his patients. Neil was sound asleep, with no sign of more vomit, so Bruce left him be for the moment. Violet stirred when he came in so he ventured closer and sat on the side of the bed, brushing hair off her face. “How are you feeling?”

“Like death would be a mercy. Amanda said I’d probably live, though.”

“Given your access to top of the line medical care, yes, I think your odds are good.” He held up the Gatorade bottle. “Up for trying to drink something?”

She grumbled quietly but shifted again so she was sitting up enough to try a few sips. They both waited expectantly and when she didn’t immediately bolt for the bathroom she took another drink and set the bottle on her nightstand. “How is everyone handling the chaos?”

“Wanda took the babies,” he told her, getting up to fetch a wet cloth from the bathroom. “Vision is taking Ada to school and I’m thinking of asking the Odinssons to let her stay for a few days until you and Neil are better. Mostly for contagion purposes.” It would also make his life slightly easier to have one less person to care for, but Ada was pretty self-sufficient and could even be a net gain when feeling helpful. “Tony is reacting to my absence with his usual separation anxiety.” He returned with the cloth and put it on her forehead.

Violet sighed softly in what sounded like relief. “It’s only been a few hours.”

“It’s Tony. I’ll answer his emails and remind him he can’t come bug me in person because he might transmit this to Pepper, which will freak him out more and he’ll build. . . something.” 

Violet frowned. “With you taking care of me and Steve distracted by Sharon and the baby, Tony’s down two minders. Three, if you count pregnant Pepper.” Bruce still wasn’t sure how many of them were supposed to officially know Pepper was pregnant. But considering how many mothers there were in the group, not to mention one legitimate mind reader, the secret was more or less out.

“Shit, you’re right.” Pulling out his phone he sent Amanda a reminder to keep a close eye on Tony. Keeping Tony on the straight and narrow was now a group endeavor, something Bruce greatly appreciated. But there were times, like now, that extra diligence was required.

“Ada has a book report due on Friday,” Violet said. “And you need to call Neil’s school and tell them I can’t send in cookies for the open house.”

Bruce made notes on all her reminders, then got up and freshened her damp cloth and waited for her to drink a little more Gatorade. “All right. I will take care of everything. Do you want your laptop and tablet?” She nodded. “Are you going to spend the whole time emailing people?”

“Maybe?”

“No,” he told her firmly. “You will relax and surf the net and read and watch movies. I am on this Violet.”

She looked uncertain. “I know, I know. I’m just. . . used to being on top of all this.”

“I know.” This had nothing to do with her not trusting him to handle it. “And as soon as you’re better I and whomever I rope into helping me will happily hand it back over. You’re getting a rare sick day. Enjoy it.”

Still clearly skeptical, she nodded and drank more Gatorade. Bruce fetched her laptop, tablet, and the book from the top of her to-be-read shelf and left her to it. By then Neil was up and cranky so it was time to try to wrestle some liquids into him.  
 Which he promptly vomited up on Bruce’s lap.

It was going to be a very long day.

*

Violet couldn’t remember the last time she’d had this many days in a row with nothing to do but sit in her bed and relax. The worst of the illness was over in the first two days. That was around the time they just moved Neil into bed with her and Bruce took to sleeping in the guest room. Neil was grumpy and hungry and tired, but neither of them were actively rejecting food anymore. So Bruce brought her meals for both of them and she fed and entertained him until lunch so Bruce could get Ada going and deal with whatever Tony was up to.

Emails trickled in from the mothers at both kids’ schools gushing about how wonderful Bruce had been. Apparently, he’d managed to get cookies for the open house, anyway. She made a mental note to ask him if he’d made them or recruited someone. Mostly just so she could tease him. In truth, she was impressed and grateful for how he’d handled everything while she was ill. It was nice to know she could take some sick days and not have everything crash down around her ears.

On day four she was probably ready to get up and help out but Bruce had insisted she take one more day. Neil was napping next to her as she watched some of the Oscar bait movies she’d missed out on over the holidays. FRIDAY was as freewheeling with bootlegs and illegal downloads as JARVIS had been so she didn’t even have to wait for official digital release.

Bruce came in with a tray of lunch, looking a little worn around the edges. He mustered up a smile as he set the tray on her lap though.

“How are you holding up?” she asked gesturing for him to sit on the side of the bed with her.

“Just fine,” he said immediately, which totally meant he was lying.

She reached out and hooked a few of her fingers around his. “Bruce.”

He sighed and smiled a softer, more sincere smile. “I am looking forward to you getting back on your feet.”

“So am I,” she assured him. “I intend to rejoin the land of the living tomorrow. And I’m hoping to send Neil back to his room, as well. He’s a terrible bedmate. And I miss you.”

“I miss you, too.” He leaned forward and pressed an affectionate, if chaste, kiss on her forehead. “Oh, I do have some gossip you might be interested in.”

“I’m interested in all forms of gossip,” she assured him.

“It sounds like Sam has won the ‘we need a therapist on staff’ argument once and for all. Flew out to California to meet someone recommended by at least three people.”

The need for some sort of psychologist to help the people on the team had been obvious for years, really. Tony was a walking case of PTSD, as were Steve and Bucky. Clint and Nat seemed more or less all right, given their pasts, but that seemed to be entirely force or will and more than a little co-dependance. Wanda had a lot of problems dealing with her powers. Even Ada, after what happened with Ultron and JARVIS essentially dying could really have used someone to talk to who would understand all the issues she was dealing with.

“That’s fantastic,” Violet said sincerely. “Everyone could benefit from it.” She studied him. “What do you and the big guy think of it?”

“I think it’s a great idea, as you said. Big guy is a little skeptical, but he’s like that about all new people. We’ll discuss it.”

She had just about gotten used to talking about the Hulk as a separate person in Bruce’s head. It was, admittedly, a little weird. But a lot of her life was weird and she managed just fine.

“Does that mean you’re going to go see them, if they get hired?”

“Of course.” He sounded almost offended that she’d asked. “I think you should, too. And Ada.”

“Yes,” she agreed. Ada had always been a unique, sensitive child. The slow march towards puberty, and the recent upheaval and move to Ithaca had only made it worse. “Though I don’t know if I really need-“ Bruce was giving her a look usually reserved for Tony, so she sighed and nodded. “I will go speak to them.”

“Thank you.” He leaned over to kiss her forehead and gestured for her to eat her lunch.

Sure enough a few days later Bruce went to a meeting announcing the hiring of their new psychiatrist, Lelani Yee, who would be starting by the end of February. The next morning Violet felt well enough to join the Gimpy Running Club that Sharon had started to get back in shape after her c-section. The new recruit was on everyone’s mind.

“I didn’t meet her,” Sharon said, leaning on a tree to stretch her legs. “But Nat did an interview and liked her well enough.”

“I spent a lot of time with her,” Darcy said. “She was cool. Funny and down to earth. Apparently Stark did his intimidation thing and she didn’t blink, which is probably how she got the job.” She grinned, crossing her right arm across her body to stretch it. “Sam was making heart eyes at her.”

“Oh, _really_?” Sharon started jogging and they fell in with her. “I’ll have to pick his brain when he comes over next.”

“Don’t embarrass him,” Violet chided. “Sam’s the only single one left, he can make eyes at whoever he wants.”

“But mo-om,” Darcy whined. “I wanna tease him.”

“Be nice or no dessert.” Darcy stuck her lower lip out and Sharon laughed.

Sharon was getting very close to her old strength and stamina. And thanks to their regular work outs, Darcy was more or less keeping pace with her. Violet had never been an athlete, and with the kids occasionally hectic schedules, she couldn’t come out as much. They were getting very close to outpacing her entirely. Which made her sad. She’d enjoyed these little mini-wives club meetings while they jogged.

The vague sense of loss and sadness followed her home after the run. Most of the changes in her life had been very sudden. Her husband dying, meeting Bruce, getting the job with Pepper. All lightning strikes. She didn’t know what to do with this feeling of dread that things were changing without her.

The kids were growing up. Neil was mainstreaming at a local private school with an aide. He was occasionally awkward and generally not a fan of talking, but given the worst case scenarios given to her when he was diagnosed it was damn near a miracle. Ada was Ada, and thriving. Violet worried sometimes she needed more stimulation, but given her best friend was a near-omniscient android and she visited a different realm on a regular basis, she was probably okay for now. Asima’s birthday was in a month and she was just on the edge of walking, with almost twenty words in her vocabulary already. Time marched on.

Maybe it was time for change. Pepper was having more kids. Joey Rogers would need to be watched eventually. The other ladies of the town were planning kids. Violet was going to need a real facility, with help. She’d never dreamed of running a day care, but that was clearly the path she was on.


	2. Chapter 2

Amanda was waiting at her door when she got back, Edie and Ruby on each hip. “Pepper asked me to bring her over. She’s having a day, it sounds like. How are you feeling?” It was almost an after thought, but Violet didn’t mind. She’d assured them both she was good to get back to work a couple days ago, but schedules had allowed her to take a couple extra days.

She did love her job.

“I’m just fine,” she said, taking Ruby. “Missing my girls. You could have gone in, Bruce is home.” She pushed the door open, heading for the family room where the mountain of toys lived.

Amanda shook her head. “Tony had a bad night - hence Pepper’s day, I think - Bruce went in to supervise and took Asima with him.”

Which probably meant Violet should go retrieve her before lunch time. “Well, as long as there’s no murder bots I suppose she’s fine in his carrier or the playpen.” She had long ago sold Bruce on wearing babies and his odd hours meant a safe area in his work shop to put her when he was on Tony Minding duty.

They put Ruby and Edie down among the toys and both toddlers squeaked and beelined for their favorites. Violet smiled and glanced at her watch. “Can you hang out one minute so I can change?”

Amanda waved a hand. “Of course, go.”

A shower would have been nice, but a full outfit change into yoga pants and a soft t-shirt made a world of difference. When she got back downstairs Amanda was trying to mediate a war over one particular baby doll. Violet dug in her toy box a moment and brought over another doll, which Edie immediately grabbed and carried over to the toy race car.

Smiling, Amanda watched her daughter play a moment, then looked back at Violet. Her smile faltered a little. “Are you all right? Really?”

Violet wondered what had shown on her face. Amanda was lovely and a good doctor, but tended not to go for the touchy-feely stuff. That she had tried at all made Violet want to be honest. “I’m feeling a little. . . at loose ends, I think. Feeling like things are changing too much and not enough.”

The other woman nodded in understanding. “Maybe you need a vacation.”

She smiled. “Oh, wouldn’t that be nice?”

“No one here takes enough time off. But you’ve been working hard since the whole Ultron mess. You and Bruce should take some time. Even a long weekend. I’m sure we can all take care of your kids for a couple nights in the interest of your mental health.”

“Are you warming us up for the incoming psychiatrist?” Violet teased, despite being sorely tempted by the picture she painted.

“Mostly excited someone who’s actually qualified will be handing out advice soon.”  
 Violet grinned. “Well, I will probably take your advice. A vacation sounds like fun.” She waved her hands in a shooing motion. “Now go to work. I’ll see you later.” More likely, she’d see Bucky. He usually picked Edie up after lunch as he didn’t have a full time job.

Amanda gave her a little salute and headed out, leaving Violet alone with the girls. “All right, little ladies. Who wants a snack?”

*

Lelani Yee, official psychiatrist to the Avengers, was a pretty Asian woman in a wheelchair. She had long graceful fingers, a wide smile, and liked to wear elegant, understated jewelry, all things the Hulk liked about her. It went a long way to get him to trust her, which made Bruce talking to her much easier.

He had not, when Hill and Amanda had first announced they’d be bringing a therapist on, expected to use her services much. His issues were unique, and not exactly covered in the DSM. But Lani had proved to be a good listener, intuitive and thoughtful, with a knack for finding parallels for superhero problems among more mundane issues. He found himself going back fairly regularly, unpacking things that had been weighing on him for a long time.

Not to say he didn’t have mundane problems as well.

“It’s not that I don’t want to be married to her. I do. Both of us do. I just. . . can’t seem to take the necessary steps.”

Lani braced an elbow on the arm of her chair, then propped her chin on the tips of her fingers. “Has Violet said anything or dropped any hints?”

“No,” he said on a sigh. “She’s . . . wonderful. And probably the most patient person I’ve ever met. I think she’d like to be married. But she’s always let me go at my speed.”

“When you think about proposing, what comes to mind?”

He blew out a breath, trying to picture the scene. “That I’d be tempting fate.”

She smiled a little. “I have never met a group of people so saturated in science and logic and so very superstitious at the same time.”

“Well, we are teammates with a Norse god.”

“True.” She lifted her head and steepled her fingers. “So if proposing would jinx you, are you hoping to skate under the radar by just . . . going on as you have been?”

Bruce heard a rumbling laugh in the back of his head and couldn’t help but agree. “It sounds stupid when you say it that way.”

“Not my intention,” she assured him. “And if Violet isn’t unhappy, there’s no crime in staying unmarried but committed. But it sounds like _you_ aren’t happy about it. So maybe we need to look for solutions.” He spread his hands helplessly and she continued, “Are there other acts of commitment you could make? Come at the bigger decision sideways, so to speak?”

Tipping his head back, he turned the question over in his mind. “I’ve been thinking how much I’d like the kids to have my last name.” He’d really like Violet to have his name, too, but they were focusing on other things now.

“That would certainly be an act of commitment.” Based on her tone he had no idea if she thought it was a good idea or not.

**LITTLE ONES OURS.**

Well at least someone thought it was a good idea. “I could float it to Violet,” he said, almost a question.

Lani smiled. “I think that would be a great conversation to start. And see where you end up.”

Diplomacy, thy name was therapy.

He walked back home, still turning the idea over in his head. Hulk was well in favor of the kids being “officially” his - theirs. Of course, Hulk was also well in favor of marrying Violet and thought Bruce was being a bit of a tool for not getting on with it. Maybe he should just put him in charge for a while and let him fix their problems.

**GOOD IDEA.**

“Quiet, you,” he muttered. He let himself in and followed the sound of giggling to the kitchen. Violet was chopping vegetables with Ada, while Neil, Ruby, and Asima sat around the table in various high chairs and boosters eating spaghetti, a peanut butter sandwich, and yogurt, respectively.

He ruffed Neil’s hair and kissed Asima and Ruby on the top of their heads. “Full house tonight?” he asked Violet, giving Ada her own head kiss before tucking an arm around Violet’s waist.

She tipped her head back and accepted a kiss. “Pepper has a check up with Amanda and the high-risk OB. Tony convinced her to go to Manhattan and have a nice dinner, so we’ve got Ruby till morning, probably.”

A night in the city feeling like grown-ups would probably do both of them a world of good. “And what are we having for dinner?”

“Spring vegetable risotto and shrimp,” Ada said, carefully chopping an asparagus stalk.

He raised his brows at Violet in a silent question. “Ada has grown interested in cooking,” she said. “And is determined to try new foods.”

Bruce remembered a period of time right after they moved into the Tower that the only things Ada would eat were watermelon, string cheese, and one very specific brand of organic mac’n’cheese. He imagined the risotto was going to have two bites taken out of it and she was going to end up with a peanut butter sandwich.

“Sounds delicious,” he said. “Anything I can do to help?”

“You can take the digestive tract out of the shrimp.”

Violet winced a little “It’s called the vein, Ada.”

“It’s the large intestine, Mom, let’s not mince words.”

Clearly Ada was going to the Gordon Ramsey school of cooking. Bruce gave Violet another quick kiss, then went to wash his hands like a good sous chef.

The risotto took almost an hour. Violet had to peel off to deal with the little ones halfway through and Bruce had to talk Ada down from a tantrum. But in the end it was pretty good. Creamy and rich and the veggies were mostly cooked the right amount. Ada ate far more than he’d expected, though she neatly avoided the peas and shrimp. In the end, they declared it a success, though agreed a little more prep would go a long way to smoothing out the process.

Violet volunteered for clean up and he took the kids to the family room for a movie before bed. This, of course, required a lively debate because Ada was “too old” for cartoons, the little ones were too young for Harry Potter, and Bruce was absolutely not watching _Tangled_ for the 500th time, no matter how much Neil liked running around pretending he was Flynn Rider.

They decided on Mary Poppins which entertained everyone. He took Asima to bed after the chimney sweep dance. When he got back it was Violet’s turn to go tuck Ruby in, which took a while as she was not, in fact, Mama. Neil went to bed at the end of the movie and Ada went to her room to read for a while before sleeping. She had recently declared she was “too old” to be tucked in, which they’d decided to honor. Mysteriously, she did tend to come downstairs around nine every night because she forgot to say goodnight. 

Growing up was hard on the whole family, he supposed.

Finally, the house was quiet and it was just the two of them, lounging on opposite ends of the couch, legs entangled. Violet was on her phone, fingers flicking too fast to be anything other than a game. He was making an effort to go over test results on his tablet, but he found himself glancing over at her too frequently to pay much attention.

“Are you subtly trying to seduce me?” she asked without looking up from her phone. “Usually you’re more skilled than this.”

He smiled. “No.” Conceding defeat, he put the tablet down and took off his reading glasses. “I actually wanted to talk to you about something. But if seduction is on the table. . .”

“Is the conversation going to derail the sex? Because I may only have energy for one.”

Cupping a hand over her calf, he rubbed the muscle, making her eyes flutter. “What would you think of me adopting Ada and Neil?”

For a moment she stared at him. Long enough he felt stirrings of panic. He could almost hear her rebuttal. This was a crazy thing to suggest before they were married. It wasn’t any less of a commitment. Any less-

“Bruce, I think that would be wonderful,” she finally said, softly, completely derailing his inner diatribe.

“Really?”

“Of course.” She put the phone down and leaned forward, shuffling into his lap to hug him. “I think the kids will be thrilled. But you should probably ‘ask’ Ada what she thinks. She’d like to be part of the conversation, even if we know what she’s likely to say.”

That was an excellent idea and one he hadn’t thought of. He kissed her gently. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” She touched his cheek, then stretched up to kiss the center of his forehead. “Both of you. You’re great dads.” 

Bruce could feel Hulk preening in the back of his head and smiled. “I’ll talk to Ada tomorrow after school.

“Good.” Violet gave an officious little nod, then sighed and slumped a little. “I should call Hal’s mother and tell her. It . . . seems polite.”

She hadn’t really spoken of Hal’s family much, and when she did it was mostly about his father who had died when they were still dating. The elder Mrs. Marsh lived in the North East somewhere. Boston maybe? “If you think that’s best,” he said diplomatically.

Her smile was wry. “I don’t know if _best_ is the right word. But she is their grandmother and they're all she has left of her son so I think it’s the right thing to tell her.”

“Probably.” He gave her a little squeeze. “Now then. There was talk of seduction?”

Violet grinned. “I thought I told you I only had energy for that or conversation.”

“It was a really short conversation, though,” he murmured, nuzzling at her neck.

“So it’ll be an equally short seduction? Bruce you really know how to-“ She broke off with a squeak as he scooped her up and stood. “You’re going to hurt your back,” she informed him as he headed for the stairs.

“Nonsense, you barely weigh anything. I lug servers around heavier than you.”

“Comparing me to computer equipment. Your seduction game is sad.”

He grinned and hefted her higher, heading for the stairs.

*

Violet put the phone call off for two days. Not until Bruce came home for lunch to tell her about the very positive conversation he’d had with one of Tony’s lawyers about how straightforward the adoption should be and how they could have it wrapped up in a couple of months, did she summon up the nerve.

She had never had a good relationship with her mother-in-law. Oh, she’d tried her best. Remembered birthdays, got thoughtful gifts, sent her cards of the kids and emails with updates. And for the most part she felt Helen Marsh. . . tolerated her. At least as long as Hal had been alive. When he died Helen made two trips to come see the kids and tried to browbeat Violet into coming to live near her in Cambridge. When she had instead decided to pack up and go to New York for Ada’s school, Helen had more or less cut off contact. Violet had continued to send cards and pictures and when they’d moved to Ithaca she’d made sure to send her the new address. If she read any of the cards then she knew about Bruce.

It was possible she had been expecting this call for ages and it would be a non event.

The first time she called it was an answering machine, which was a bit of a let-down considering how she’d had to psyche herself up for it. She left a brief, upbeat message asking Helen to call her back and tried to go about her day, ignoring the odd, prickly feeling of anticipation.  
 There was no return call, so Violet tried again the next morning and twice more throughout the day. By the fifth call she was pretty sure she was being screened if not outright avoided. So, impatient, and with a desire to just rip the damn band-aid off, she left a different message. “Helen, it’s Violet. I’m sorry we keep missing each other. Anyway, it’s nothing urgent, I just wanted to let you know that Bruce - I mentioned Bruce in my Christmas card, I’m sure - well he’s going to start the process of adopting Ada and Neil. I just thought you’d want to know. Have a good night.”

And that, she thought, was that. There was no return call or acknowledgement of any kind. Depressing as it was, it seemed she really didn’t care what happened to the kids at all.

_Violet’s_ mother, on the other hand, was over-the-moon at the idea. Her enthusiasm was a nice antidote to the silence from the other side of the family. Enough that Violet was even willing to ignore her pointed comments on marriage.

“I don’t know, Mom. I think he just has some sort of block against it,” she said while she watched the kids at the little playground in the center of Avengerville. It had been a week since they’d started the adoption process and according to Bruce things were chugging away smoothly. “It’s not like I think he’s going to ditch us.”

“I know, I know. Bruce is lovely.” Violet smiled and made a mental note to tell him of her mother’s casual approval. Her parents had rolled with the whole dating-an-Avenger-moving-to-Ithaca thing remarkably well, despite Bruce being on the verge of a panic attack the first time he met them. Her mother had fluttered and fed him and her father had dragged him out to the garden to show him his latest train layout. Which Bruce promptly helped him redesign for more efficiency. They’d been fast friends ever since. Bruce found layout plans in his email regularly.

“You just want a second chance to plan my wedding,” Violet teased her.

“I think I have a very good argument for green bridesmaid dresses this time.”

She laughed. “I don’t know. I want to get the adoption thing over with, then maybe I’ll poke him. I could change my name back to my maiden name, that might get the point across.”

“You’d stop using Hal’s name?” Her mother’s surprise was obvious even over the phone. 

“Not really feeling a lot of connection to the Marshes this week.”

And Mom was immediately in Mama Bear mode. “Did Helen say something?”

“No, in fact, she said absolutely nothing. I couldn’t even get a hold of her, had to tell her via answering machine.” Violet sighed. “I think she was avoiding my calls.”

“Couldn’t have been on a vacation or something?”

Violet saw Wanda heading across the lawn and raised a hand in a wave. “Maybe. I’d think she’d change her message or something if she was going to be gone that long. But it’s always a possibility. I told her, best as I could. Due diligence and all that, right?” It was becoming clear that Wanda was making her way towards her so she added, “Hey, Mom, I gotta go. I’ll email you about a visit, okay?”

“Yes. And we should have a party when the adoption goes through. I can guilt Bruce about you being the only non-Banner in the house.”

Laughing, she shook her head. “Sounds good, Mom. Talk soon.” They said their goodbyes just as Wanda reached her. “Hey, what’s up?”

Wanda smiled and sank down onto the bench beside her. “Darcy called me when she couldn’t get ahold of you. There’s a registered letter at the gate for you and the courier is insisting you, and only you, sign for it.”

An odd feeling of dread tightened her spine, but she couldn’t imagine what the letter could be. Wanda looked immediately concerned and she tried to settle herself. “Can you watch the kids while I go grab it?”

“Of course,” Wanda said immediately. “Do you want me to call Bruce?”

Violet chuckled, standing up and buttoning her coat. “I think I can manage getting the mail on my own.” Wanda smiled but it was thin and didn’t reach her eyes. Violet felt bad she’d ruined her good mood, but vacating was probably the best way to improve it. So she told the kids to listen to Auntie Wanda and trudged over to where the nearest electric card was parked.

It was a short drive to the main gate, where she signed for the letter without any problem. The gate guard looked a little annoyed, but she thought that was more at the courier than her. She thanked them both and walked back to the cart, studying the letter. It was postmarked Boston and from a law office. The dread in her spine started to grow.

Once back in the cart she opened the envelope and read the very official letter. By the time she got to the end the dread was damn near panic.

“FRIDAY, where’s Bruce?” Her voice was remarkably steady, all things considered.

“In the private lab with Mr. Stark. Should I tell him to meet you at home?”

She was probably going to cry. He was almost certainly going to need to talk the Big Guy down. Neither of those would be easy in front of the kids. “No, I’ll go to the lab. Take me there. Quickly, if possible.”

The cart started with a lurch and hummed smoothly along the path. It all passed in a blur and then she was storming into the basement lab.

Bruce and Tony were both there and looked up in surprise as she wound her way through the tables that dotted the enormous room. “Hey,” Bruce said. “What’s-“

She shoved the letter into his hands. “Hal’s mother contacted a lawyer. She’s suing for custody of Neil and Ada.”

He froze, staring first at her, then the paper she’d given him. After a pause to read it - or more likely skim it - he stalked away from her, breathing in long, rough inhales and shaky exhales. When he passed Tony he slammed the paper into his chest, rocking him with the force of it.

Tony took more time to read it, strolling over to Violet. She was watching Bruce pace, in case she had to intervene in negotiations with the big guy.

“Has she does ever tried to do anything like this before?” Tony asked.

She shook her head. “Right after Hal died she wanted me to move closer to her, but never pressed very hard. She’s wanted nothing to do with the kids the last five years or more.”

“So this is entirely about Bruce adopting them?” His tone was quiet, almost reasonable. Which was almost as scary as Bruce on the verge of a transformation.

“It must be.” He held the letter out to her and she took it, folding it back into thirds. “This is insane. She wouldn’t even take my call or talk to me. She didn’t even try to reach out about concerns she had. She went right to lawyers.” Which, if she was being objective, was a very Helen Marsh thing to do.

“Don’t worry about her,” Tony said, pulling out his phone. “I’ll get my lead counsel up here. He’ll drown her in legalities and red tape. She’ll back off. And if she doesn’t, I have a team of lawyers and investigators. They’ll get some dirt on her that will make being the Hulk look like Mother Teresa.

Bruce paused his pacing to point their way. “This is a good plan. We approve of this plan.”

“No,” Violet said quietly and both men turned to look at her.

“What do you mean, no?” Tony asked.

“I don’t want to do that. She’s not a corporation trying to outbid you, she’s an old woman with no other family. She’s probably scared and afraid of what the adoption means and I just. . . I don’t want to treat her like an enemy. Not yet. That’s now who I am.”

Bruce had come over to them and now looked noticeably calmer. He reached out and tugged her against his chest. “What do you want to do?”

“We have the lawyer that was helping with the adoption. We’ll talk to him and have him deal with her people. Maybe we can settle it in mediation or something.”

“And if she’s not willing to be reasonable?” When she was in a better mood she would be vary touched at how Tony was immediately and completely in their corner.

“Then we’ll see about more aggressive means. But only then.”

“Okay.” Bruce rubbed her back and took a deep breath of her scent. “You want me to come back home with you?”

She shook her head. “Why don’t you go see if Thor wants to go to the quarry or something? I’m going to need to tell Ada about this and it will help if you’re in a more stable place.”

He sighed and gave her a squeeze. “That’s probably a good idea. I’ll see you for dinner?”

Smiling wryly, she said, “I’m thinking take out tonight?”

“Sounds like a great idea.” He studied her a moment, then ducked his head to kiss her. “It’ll be all right,” he said softly. She forced a little smile and nodded.

He walked her up to the front of the building, then broke off, he to the quarry and she back to the kids. Before she got in the cart, she watched him walk off, smiling for real. It would be all right. He’d be right by her side, as would everyone else. They’d figure it out.

 Pulling out her phone, she scrolled through her contacts until she found Helen’s number and pressed the button to dial it. It rang and rang, as she’d expected, then the answering machine picked up. “Helen, it’s Violet. I got the letter from your lawyers. I really wish you would have answered my calls and talked to me about this.” She paused. Violet considered herself a good person. A _nice_ person. She didn’t like hurting people or starting conflict. But she had her limits. “Hal would be ashamed of you for this.”

She pulled the phone away to hang up when she heard a click and brought it back to her ear. “Hello?”

“That was needlessly cruel,” Helen said in her tight, New England accent.

Violet couldn’t believe she was actually answering her. “What do you call trying to take children away from their mother?”

“Sensible, when their mother is no longer acting in their best interests.” She spat the word “mother” out like it tasted foul.

“You have no idea what their best interests are, you haven’t seen them in years.” And hadn’t wanted much to do with them when she had.

“And whose fault is that? I’ve been exactly where I’ve always been.”

“And I’ve made a point of making sure you knew exactly where we were. I kept you involved as best I could, you never reached out, never called, never visited.”

Helen sniffed. “I had no reason to believe I’d be welcome.”

Violet had been a teacher when the phrase “helicopter parent” had been coined. She’d run into any number of parents - mothers and fathers - who insisted her grades were unfair and that _their_ child deserved a higher one, despite the stack of half-assed essays, failed tests, and occasionally outright plagiarism she could produce. She knew well the tone of someone who was not arguing in the same reality as you.

“I’ll see you in court, Helen,” she said quietly and hung up, stomach twisted in knots.

It would be okay. It had to be.


	3. Chapter 3

Bruce had more or less gotten used to having a roommate in his own head. Hulk had been very vocal and chatty in the days and weeks right after Wanda had opened the door between them. But his months in India in semi-solitude had allowed them to find an equilibrium. Bruce did not need a running commentary of his life so the big guy learned to settle a bit. In return for the peace and quiet, Bruce made an effort to listen to him when he did speak.

**FLOWER SAD.**

Of course, often they were entirely in sync. “I know she is.”

**FIX IT.**

He sighed. It had been two weeks since the letter from the lawyers. Bruce had contacted the lawyer Tony had lent him for the adoption paperwork - Tribbey, his name was - and he was hard at work dealing with Helen Marsh’s lawyer. It had been a couple of days since an update and the uncertainty was starting to wear on Violet.

“I can’t fix it,” he said out loud, leaning over his sink to shave. “It’s out of my hands.”

There was a rather pointed pause. **STUPID BANNER.**

“There’s no need to be rude,” he muttered.

“Is the big guy calling you names?” Violet asked from the doorway.

Bruce glanced up to catch her eye in the mirror. “There might be a little bit of bullying going on.”

She came in and ducked in front of him, cupping his cheeks to bring him down for a kiss, first on the mouth, then the forehead. “Be nice,” she said softly.

**SORRY FLOWER.**

“He apologized,” Bruce told her, grabbing a towel to wash the last of the foam off his face. “Am I taking too long?”

“A little. I think it’s bad form to be late for a wedding. Vision’s here. He and Ada are already starting an experiment in the kitchen. I decided I didn’t want to know.”

Pietro and Ora were getting married in an effort to mollify her family. Pregnant before the wedding was apparently negotiable, baby before the wedding was not. So they’d cobbled something together as quickly as possible so she wouldn’t be huge in her dress. Bruce didn’t know either of them well, Pietro liked to hang out with Clint and Bucky - both members of Team Muscle, as Darcy called it - but Violet was close to Wanda and got second hand gossip. Wanda had been in charge of table assignments and things had gotten tense the last few days.

Violet looked very nice in the burgundy dress she had on and she’d curled her hair and clipped it back. She’d had first crack at the bathroom for hair and make-up and while it had very much been worth it, it was probably a little bit of the reason he was running late. “I just need to get my jacket on and we can go.”

Violet nodded and slipped away and he followed her to the bed room, scooping his suit jacket off the bed.

They said their goodbyes to Vision and the kids. Vision had been invited, but had declined, saying his presence tended to make people uncomfortable. Given that Ora’s large, boisterous family was going to outnumber the Avengers by more than two to one, it was probably a reasonable decision. Bruce wasn’t entirely sure if the android felt things like self-consciousness or embarrassment, but he was certainly aware enough to know when his presence affected others. And it gave them a competent, worry-free babysitter for the kids.

The wedding was at a hotel in Ithaca that had a valet. It was a nice place, big enough for their crowd, and the staff was very polite and friendly. Bruce felt that itchy anxiety between his shoulder blades he often got in too big of a crowd. But they were among friends and Hulk was more or less content, so he smiled at Steve when he greeted them and led them to a seat.

“Odd,” Violet said when they’d gotten settled and were watching the rest of the crowd trickle in.

“What is?” he asked, glancing around to try to pick out the source of her concern.

“Nothing terrible. There’s just no flowers. Usually you have urns up at the top of the aisle at least, if not on the aisle itself or the ends of the seats.”

He looked at the head of the aisle and saw she was correct. There was no decoration at all, as far as he could see. Just the contrast of white chairs and dark drapes on the walls. It didn’t seem like something that would be forgotten, certainly not with Ora and Wanda doing the planning. Before he could formulate any sort of theory on the oversight, the music rose in volume and people started to rapidly take their seats.

Ora’s family was quite decidedly Catholic and Pietro was firmly, if lazily, Jewish. Bruce had been prepared for some sort of dual ceremony covering both traditions. Instead, Wanda walked out and, after a simply stunning light show that was clearly standing in for flowers and decorations, began a non-denominational ceremony that focused on love and family and new beginnings.

Pietro dipped Ora during the kiss, which he swore was becoming a tradition in this little group, and then they headed down the aisle to have a moment alone. The crowd surged to its feet and began funneling out of the room. Bruce kept Violet tucked in at his side to keep her from getting overwhelmed at the crush.

“If you let the big guy out you could just carry me above everyone’s heads,” she muttered and he snorted a laugh.

“Was that a request?” he teased and she grinned at him.

“It would clear the crowd out effectively. And he never gets to come to formal events.”

**HULK NEVER INVITED.**

“Careful, honey. Big guy is starting to grasp sarcasm.”

She laughed and they finally made their way out of the room into the relatively less populated hallway. Violet laughing had become a rarer event since the letter from the lawyers and Bruce and the guy in his head both approved. He curled his hand around her, weaving their fingers together.

Violet squeezed his hand and leaned into him. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” he said softly, bending to kiss the top of her head. Hulk did something that was the mental equivalent of pointedly clearing his throat and Bruce smiled. “Sorry, _we_ love you.”

That made her laugh again and she stretched up to kiss his forehead. “Come on. Wanda promised no potatoes on your plate.”

In the banquet hall, they were seated with Tony, Rhodey and his wife, and Thor and Jane. “No Pepper,” he asked Tony as they get settled.

Tony shrugged. “Still on bed rest and not up for the crowd. Ora personally gave her her blessing to stay at home and feel miserable, so Pepper took her up on it.”

Pepper was seven months pregnant with twins and having a very poor time of it. Her first pregnancy, with Ruby, had been plagued with all manner of annoying complications, most fortunately harmless for the fetus. Carrying two babies had not made this round any easier.

“Clearly the Stark genes cause problems even in utero,” Vanessa Rhodes said, with a smile that indicated she was teasing.

Tony grinned at her. “They’re already cloning themselves, so the bar is set high.”

To Bruce’s understanding, Tony and Vanessa had a rather rocky relationship. Rhodey had been friends with Tony since school and, as such, had rode through the worst of his partying and drinking. Bruce had only been there for the tail end, when Tony was comparatively sober and focused and he occasionally found him exhausting and aggravating. He imagined Vanessa had put up with a lot of second-hand shit over the years and was now rightfully wary of him. Still, they’d seen more of her in the last year or two. Parenthood had settled Tony exponentially and it was probably to Vanessa’s credit she was giving him his hundred and second chance.

“Thor was telling me twins are actually kind of common on Asgard,” Jane piped up.

Violet looked over. “Really?”

He nodded. “Babies are rarer among Asgardians than here but in my experience twins are a higher percentage of them. It’s anecdotal to be sure, but. . .”

“It would make sense,” Bruce said. “If pregnancy is rare then producing more children per pregnancy would be evolutionarily advantageous.”

“I can’t imagine having twins,” Violet admitted. “One baby at a time was hard enough.” She glanced at Tony. “But I’m sure you’ll be _fine_.”

“Nice save. I intend to call on the whole damn village once the boys are loose, don’t worry.”

“How’s the thing with your mother-in-law?” Jane asked Violet quietly. Bruce saw her slump a little and resisted the urge to glare at Jane.

“There’s no change,” Violet said. “The lawyers are arguing. I’m hoping to hear an update soon, but unfortunately there’s nothing we can do to hurry it along.”

“Jim told me about the custody thing,” Vanessa said. “I’m sorry you’re having to go through that.”

Violet smiled at that and Bruce immediately loved Vanessa and decided to take her side on the next three stupid things Tony did. “Thank you. It’s a little scary, but our lawyer doesn't think she has much of a case.”

There were noises of agreement and positivity around the table and Bruce quietly hoped that was the end of it. Then Thor leaned over and solemnly covered one of Violet’s hands with his enormous one. “I want to assure you that as long as it is in my power you will not be separated from your children. You - all of you - are welcome in Asgard, far from mortal law.”

Violet blinked then smiled, looking a little teary. “Thank you, Thor.”

“Your father okayed that?” Bruce asked, putting a hand on Violet’s back and rubbing little circles.

“His step-mother did,” Jane said with a grin before Thor could respond.

“She’s _not_ my-“

“She probably will be. You should start adjusting to the new paradigm.”

Thor looked almost visibly ill and Bruce ducked his head to hide a smile. Violet covered Thor’s hand with her free one. “Whoever okayed it, I’m very touched and happy. Thank you. That means I can worry a little less.”

Bruce knew full well she didn’t really want to live in Asgard for the rest of her life. But she didn’t want the kids taken from them even more, so Thor’s offer probably did give her some relief. It was always good to had a solution to the worst case scenario.

Pietro and Ora’s arrival derailed any further conversation on the topic, to his relief. There were speeches, including one from Tony, mostly because he was bored, as near as Bruce could tell. Though he had almost certainly paid for most if not all of this party, so he could have a speech if he wanted.

Dinner was served and conversation ebbed and flowed around the table, about work and families and the usual safe topics. He could sense Violet relaxing as the night went on. He was an introvert of the highest order, and had been long before the accident that had created Hulk. But she liked people. She’d chosen to be a teacher because she liked meeting people and the times in her life when she’d been isolated, either voluntarily or by circumstance, tended to be her least favorite memories. As exhausting as he found the crowd and the press of people and the food he didn’t really choose, he’d do it a thousand times to make her happy.

After dinner people began to get up to mingle. Violet left the table to track down Wanda and the other women and Jane tagged along with her. Thor produced some Asgardian Mead and Tony attached himself to said liquor supply. The Rhodes went out to the dance floor and Bruce had a few moments of peace and solitude, which helped him recharge a bit. He was quite content to sit and people watch. Everyone was happy and laughing. Ora’s family was loud by joyful and wary enough of their odd little group not to be overwhelming.

The party ebbed and flowed around him and he eventually pulled out his phone to jot down some work ideas until Violet reappeared at his side.

“How is everyone?” he asked, smiling and tucking his phone away.

“Good.” She took her seat again, curling a hand over his without seeming to think about it. “Seems like Sam and Lani are now officially together.”

His brows went up. “I had no idea they were unofficially anything.”

Violet’s smile turned gently affectionate. “Because your finger is not on the gossip pulse of Avengerville. They appear to have been dancing around each other for while. But he currently has his arm around her shoulders and there’s been whispering and giggling. So I guess it’s a proper thing now.”

“Well then.” He scanned the room and spotted them a couple tables away. Sure enough, Sam’s fingers were toying with a few strands of loose hair at the nape of her neck. “Good for them,” Bruce said firmly.

“Yes,” Violet agreed, glancing over in their direction. “More love is always good.”

His gaze went back to her, studying her profile while she was distracted. Love swelled up in his chest like an ache. With it came the impulsive desire to propose. Right here and now.

But before the words could come out she turned back to him and asked, “Ready to head out? I know you’re probably reaching the end of your social time.”

That did nothing to lessen the emotions that were swirling in him. But instead of asking her to marry him he said, “I was thinking we could dance.”

Her eyes widened and she grinned. “Really?”

And that expression alone made the next few minutes worth it. He stood and held a hand out to her. “Really. Come on. I think I have a few skills in this area.”

Absolutely beaming, she took his hand and got to her feet. “You’ve been hiding dancing skills from me this whole time?”

He led her out to the dance floor, feeling like he was walking on air. “So many layers to the Bruce Banner onion.”

She laughed and curled her hands over his shoulders when they reached a clear spot. There was a mercifully slow song playing and he was able to just sway. It was apparently enough for her, because she held him a little closer and tucked her head under his chin.

Surrounded by friends, beautiful woman in his arms. Sometimes life was just perfect.


	4. Chapter 4

The week after Pietro and Ora’s wedding was spring break which meant Ada and Neil were off school. Which meant, in turn, that Violet had five kids at home all day. Ada was more or less self sufficient, but still required food and occasional check-ins. Neil was a handful at the best of times, but disruptions in his routine tended to ramp that up to a thousand. A week off of school away from his friends and therapists counted as a significant routine change.

Her efforts at finding him a play date were frustratingly futile. Normally she would ask Wanda to come over and lend a hand, distract the little ones. But she was seeing Dr. Yee regularly and was making progress on handling her powers. Violet was well aware she was probably a big ball of anxiety and stress because of the custody issues. She in no way wanted to add to Wanda’s problems.

Monday morning Bruce’s lawyer had confirmed Helen’s lawyer had filed a non-parental custody petition with the state of New York. It had included a list of reasons Helen felt Violet was no longer a suitable guardian. It had covered everything from their abrupt move to Ithaca, the fact she’d kept Neil out of kindergarten for an extra year, his “continued behavior problems” and the unsavory characters she let Ada spend time with. It was mostly bullshit and Tribbey had said as much when he talked to them. But it was out there and it was filed and now they were going to have to deal with it.

The biggest and, if she was being honest, hardest to refute was the Bruce was dangerous. The phrasing was convoluted and full of legalese, but the gist was that a man who “unpredictably” changed into a giant green monster who could tear apart buildings was not a suitable guardian for children. While their relationship had been “casual” (and how living together and adopting a third child together qualified as “casual” Violet didn’t know) Helen had been content to let it be. But now that Bruce was seeking custody, well, the gloves were off.

Of course, trying to explain that neither Bruce, nor the Hulk was a threat was difficult at best. Trying to explain it without outing Wanda as a legitimate psychic who could. . . meddle in people’s heads and allow Hulk to communicate with Bruce was damn near impossible.

The last bit of hope she’d had that this would all be settled peacefully had been killed by that piece of paper. It was depressing and discouraging and put her in a foul mood. It had also made Bruce more or less useless at work. So, on Tuesday, after getting in a pointless fight with Tony over the placement of a button, of all things, he had decided to take his own spring break and she’d gotten her second pair of hands.

She was folding her never ending pile of laundry during a rare quiet moment one afternoon. Ada was in her room, Ruby and Asima were napping, Bucky had picked Edie up early and Bruce and Neil were building a bridge out of blocks on the dining room table. FRIDAY was playing classical music out of the house speakers. For a moment, she could pretend everything was right with the world.

Neil lost interest and Bruce came over to join her, fishing one of Ada’s shirts out of the basket and folding it. “Are you all right?”

Looking up in surprise, she smiled automatically. “Yeah. Just tired.”

He looked at her over his glasses. “I know you are. But I was just. . . you seem down and out of sorts. I know the custody thing is weighing on you but I was wondering if there was something else.”

Her hands stilled a moment, then she sighed, shoulders slumping. “I don’t know. The last few months I’ve been feeling out of sorts. I’ve talked with Lani about it.”

“And?” he prompted when she didn’t continue.

She took a deep breath. “I’m thinking that once the day care gets set up I’m going to quit. I don’t want to be an administrator.” There, it was out now. The thing she’d only said to herself or Lani before. Telling Bruce wasn’t the same as telling Pepper or formally quitting. But it felt remarkably freeing to say it.

Bruce blinked at her a moment, then took his glasses off. “What do you want to do?”

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “Maybe finish my Masters. Maybe just be a mom for a while.” She set the shirt she was folding onto the stack and paused again. “Sometimes I think about trying to write something.”

He smiled, clearly surprised. “Really?”

She shrugged, starting to wish she hadn’t said it. “I wrote short stories and stuff when I was in high school and college. Dabbled afterwards. Never finished anything and then Hal died and I didn’t have the spirit for it anymore. And then I was so busy. . . “

“I think it’s a great idea.”

Now it was her to turn for surprise. “You do?”

“I do.” He stepped around the laundry basket to get closer to her. “You took the job with Pepper and Tony because you needed it - the income and the insurance for Neil. Both of those are taken care of now. And you’re right, when it’s a proper day care with multiple families and ages and not just you taking care of a couple of toddlers in your house, your role will change. That’s a perfectly valid time to leave a job and look for something else.”

She resisted the urge to point out she could be more certain that money and insurance were not a problem if they were, you know, married. Now wasn’t the time and pestering him about it wouldn’t increase his odds of proposing. It would just make him more nervous about it. “I feel bad about leaving Pepper and the other parents in the lurch.”

“Are you going to stop watching the girls tomorrow?”

“No, of course not.”

“Then you’re not going to leave anyone in the lurch. Talk to Pepper and you can start looking for people to run the daycare and watch the kids immediately. With any luck you’ll have someone lined up before the building is done.” He reached out and drew her into a hug. “I think she and Amanda and Sharon and everyone will be really happy for you. Everyone here pursues their passion. You have the right to do the same.”

Resting her head on his chest, she sighed. “It’s hard to do something that feels selfish.”

A chuckle rumbled through his chest and he kissed the top of her head. “Vi, you are the least selfish person on the planet. You take care of everyone. You are Team Mom to a town full of orphans. And you are _also_ allowed to want things for yourself and pursue them.”

“That’s what Lani said,” she admitted. Hearing him say it helped, though. Bruce also tended towards acts of selflessness.

He kissed her hair. “If you want to get your Masters, I will support that. If you want to write the great American novel, or poetry, or children’s books, or time travel space adventures, I will support that. If you want to sit on the couch and eat potato chips, I will support that. If you want my help, I’ll give it, if you want me to butt out I can do that, too. And if you start feeling like you’re being selfish or that you don’t deserve to put yourself first, tell me and I will remind you how very wrong you are.”

She could hear the smile in his voice as he said his little speech and she felt her shoulders unknot and relax. “I’ll go see Pepper and talk it over. Assure her I’ll take care of it so she doesn’t feel like she has more on her plate, but at least she’s not blindsided by it.”

“And I will watch the horde while you do that. Because I support you,” he added with a grin. She laughed and he swayed her back and forth a little, like they were dancing. “It’s good to see you smile,” he said softly

If she was honest, it felt good to smile. “I know it’s only March, but this year has kind of sucked.”

“It has,” he agreed. “And it’s possible it will get worse before it’s better. But we’ll get through it. Together.”

Violet leaned back to look at him. “When did you become an optimist?

He smiled and cupped her face, running his thumb along her cheekbone. “I think it’s the company I keep.”

Despite herself, she felt tears burn the back of her eyes and tighten her throat. Bruce was occasionally absent, often distracted, rarely comfortable with talking about emotion and seemed to have some sort of block against marrying her despite wanting to adopt her children and standing with her through all manner of troubles. But moments like this, small and real and honest, reminded her why she loved him so very much.

Reaching up, she cupped his face and drew him down for a kiss. “Thank you.”

His arms tightened on her, lifting her up to her toes. “Thanks for rubbing off on me.”

*

April brought warmer weather and melted snow. The land around the compound came to life with early spring flowers and wildlife. Neil started asking for a pet raccoon and they had to put up with almost two weeks of non stop raccoon facts. They were admittedly fascinating creatures, but Bruce could have gone his whole life without having his six year old inform him that raccoons had bones in their penises. And he _really_ could have done without his best friend’s daughter loudly asking what a penis was immediately afterwards.

Bruce left Violet trying to explain the difference between boy bodies and girl bodies through hysterical laughter. Normally he would have stuck around to hear said explanation but there was a team meeting he wasn’t supposed to miss.

In the end, he sort of wished he had missed it.

“A meet-and-greet?” Bucky probably couldn’t have sounded more annoyed if someone had suggested they all go to prom. “Isn’t there any sort of terrorist group we could go after. Maybe a six month commando mission in Belize?”

“Only if you take me with you,” Amanda muttered.

From the head of the table, Sharon sighed deeply. She looked very tired, with dark circles under her eyes. “Actually, you are non-negotiable. I could probably make excuses for the rest of you but Amanda’s presence has been specifically requested.”

She sat up a little and Bucky looked concerned. “By who?”

“T’challa, the king of Wakanda. He’s announced he will be opening diplomatic relations with ‘select countries.’ This meet-and-greet is at least partially so some ambassadors and officials can start wooing him. So far, the only person he’s requested a one-on-one with is Amanda.”

There was a few beats of silence in the room. “Doc,” Tony said. “Is there something you’d like to share with the class?”

Her mouth opened and closed. “I have no idea. I’ve never met him.”

Bruce ventured, “When you were with MSF?”

She shook her head. “Wakanda doesn’t need aid. I was stationed in that area, but I don’t recall ever meeting anyone _from_ there, let alone its king. Though I suppose his father would have been the king back then.”

“Wakanda is the most technically and medically advanced country in the world,” Sharon said. “If I had to wager a guess I’d say he’s interested in the serum research.”

“Finally, I’m the most popular girl in the class.”

Sharon smiled. “In any case, you’re expected on Tuesday. Debate is still raging about whether or not to bring your families but I think we should assume it’ll be team-only.”

Which was exactly how it went down. They said goodbye to their loved ones and flew to Geneva for their diplomatic PR tour. Bruce considered trying to bow out of the whole mess, using the custody dispute as a cover. The stupid thorn in his side might as well be useful for something.

Tribbey and the other lawyer had managed to get Helen Marsh to agree to a mediator hearing before going to court. Bruce and Violet didn’t think it would do much good. Neither of them were willing to let her have any sort of visitation and he very much doubted Helen would settle for anything less than full custody. Violet had mostly agreed to it so she could look the other woman in the eye. And Tribbey had claimed it would look good to a judge is they had at least attempted peaceable resolution before taking up the court’s time.

The mediation hearing was scheduled for May, almost a full month away, so trying to use it as a reason to play hooky seemed juvenile. The entire rest of the team was going and his absence might be notable.

They got to Geneva in the wee hours of the morning, landing the jet on top of the hotel the summit would be held at. Once in his room, Bruce briefly considered video chatting the kids, but figured they’d be at Pepper’s with the rest of the ladies and decided sleeping would be the better option. He did send her a quick text so she’d know he was safe.

He woke far earlier than he would have planned, having forgotten to close the blackout drapes. As he was trying to go back to sleep there was a tap at his door and a piece of paper was shoved under it. Curiosity got the better of him, and he climbed out of bed to retrieve it, discovering it was an itinerary. Photo op after breakfast, a press conference, a collection of meetings for one or two of them at a time, and a cocktail reception in the evening.

It was almost three am in New York and while Violet would probably let him vent to her for a while, he didn’t want to wake her up that early if it wasn’t an actual emergency. So he got dressed and went downstairs to the breakfast buffet to see if any of his fellow early risers was up and willing to kibitz.

The only person he recognized was Nat, who looked rumpled and grumpy. He’d heard Clint mention she rose with the sun no matter where they were. Clearly he meant that literally. She waved at Bruce as he passed, which he took to mean she was amenable to company. So once he got his omelette and sausage (and gazed forlornly at the hash browns a moment) he brought that and his coffee over to the table she’d claimed.

“So,” he said after eating a few bites and checking to make sure at least half of her coffee was gone. “Press conference.”

“Yeah.” Her voice was growly. “Sharon gave me a preliminary schedule yesterday and there was nothing about that. Clearly they snuck it in once we were in the air.”

“Could we argue about it?”

“We could. But I don’t think it would do any good. They won’t cancel it last minute and we’ll just look argumentative at best and secretive at worst. And this is supposed to be a happy friendly day.” She sipped her coffee. “I caught the organizer in the hallway when she was handing out the itineraries. She swore to the heavens that the invited reporters have agreed to nothing but softball questions. No probing our dark pasts, no mission specifics.”

His brow furrowed. “What does that leave?”

“Ten bucks says questions about Wanda’s hair and my underwear.”

“That sounds excruciating.” She smiled in agreement before drinking more coffee.

Steve and Sam joined them a few minutes later and they managed to have a repeat of the conversation he and Nat had just had. Bruce mostly tuned out, giving Wanda a nod when she appeared as well. Until Steve turned to him.

"Bruce, how are you feeling today?" 

Somewhere along the line, asking about his health had become code for gauging how likely he was to cause property damage. Bruce knew it was intended kindly, a way for him to save face. Sometimes he just wasn’t up for it. ”I feel like we've been friends long enough you could just ask me for percentage odds on the big guy making an appearance."

"Hill just told me Thaddeus Ross is going to be at the reception."

Blood roared in his ears and he could hear Hulk growling in the back of his head. It took a few breathing exercises but he managed to answer Steve calmly. If there was a person in the world he could have gone his whole life without seeing again, Ross would be it. Blonsky, Harlem, Betty. Even the original accident that had created the Hulk. Ross was at the center of all of it. 

Several others trickled in over the next half hour. Bruce eventually excused himself to go up to his room and meditate before it was time for the photo ops. He attended, but was mostly ignored, as he’d expected. He worked very hard to stay to the sidelines and not draw attention to himself. He suspected there was at least a few of the photographers who had no idea who he was or why he was there.

Likewise, he didn’t have any one-on-one meetings. He spent another half hour meditating, then went down the hall to Pietro’s room where the rest of the uninteresting team members were hanging out. 

Lunch was between the meetings and press conference and by then it was just barely late enough to call New York. Violet was making breakfast for the kids - she was watching Edie since both Amanda and Bucky were in Geneva - but she sounded happy to hear him.

“We’re having a press conference in twenty minutes. Bets on whether or not I get any questions?”

“Dr. Banner, what’s it like dating such a sexy and capable ex-teacher?”

He laughed and he could feel tension relaxing in his head. “I did get some bad news.”

“Oh no, what is it?”

“General Ross is going to be at the reception tonight.” He paused. “Well, it’s Secretary of State Ross now, I suppose.”

Violet was silent a moment. “Betty’s father?”

“Yeah.” He sighed. “Though that’s probably the least awkward thing about this.”

“We are not having a lot of luck with past in-laws, are we?”

“Technically we were not actually in-laws, but I see your point.” He sighed and looked out his window. “Steve said I could skip the reception if I didn’t think I could handle it. I’m torn as to what to do.”

“Do you think he’ll try to talk to you?”

“I don’t know. Maybe? And even then, his intent might not be nefarious. We did know each other for a long time. He’s an asshole, but it’s not outside the realm of possibility that he’d want to see how I was doing.”

**HULK HAPPY TO SHOW HIM**

_Quiet, you._

“From what you’ve told me about him, it sounds like even if his reasons were honorable the conversation would stress you and the big guy out.”

That was actually a legitimate point. “And I’m not exactly at my most relaxed. Maybe I’ll just skip it.” He wasn’t the most socially adept person, anyway, especially not in a room full of people he didn’t know. He’d leave the schmoozing to the rest of them. “It will probably be really boring, anyway.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to say that writing for Hulk was one of the highlights of this story for me.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter happens concurrently with Chapter 14 of Mysteries Explicit and Inherent. I would read that one first, if you're reading both of them. It also references and event from Captain America Civil War.

Violet and Bruce were one of the few families on the team that had their own car. Though, technically, they hadn’t paid for it. It was a van that could seat ten, very useful for when she needed to take all of the kids anywhere. Usually, she avoided dragging more than one or two kids anywhere alone, but with the team in Geneva, Pepper out of commission, and Zev upstate at his residency they were kind of short handed in town. So she loaded up Edie, Ruby and Asima into the van and drove to pick up Ada and Neil from school. They stopped for ice cream - through a Dairy Queen drive-thru, she wasn’t crazy - they made their way back to Avengerville.

Darcy and Jane were waiting for her on her front porch when they got back and walked down the path to help her as she unloaded the kids. “Why aren’t you answering your phone?” Darcy asked, dodging Ada as the little girl headed to the house.

“What do you mean? It never rang.” She balanced Asima on her hip and dug her phone out of her pocket. She hit the home button a couple of times but the screen refused to light up. “Oh, shoot, it must have run out of battery. I was letting the girls watch videos on it while we drove.” She looked back at Darcy and felt her skin chill. “What’s happened? What’s wrong?”

“There was an incident at the reception in Geneva,” Jane said, unbuckling Ruby and lifting her out of her seat.

Violet sucked in a breath. “Bruce?”

“No,” Darcy told her, taking Ruby from Jane so the other woman could retrieve Edie. “Bucky. Someone set off one of his Hydra triggers. He beat up a bunch of them, tried to attack the king of Wakanda and got drugged by Amanda. Why is this child so sticky? Do children exude sticky?”

“We got ice cream. So they stopped him. What’s happening now?”

Jane tucked Edie up onto her shoulder and the three of them headed for the house. “They managed to get to the jet and in the air, they’re on their way back now. Tony called us and Lani so she’d be here when they land.”

“Thought it was a good idea to get you on stand-by,” Darcy said. “He didn’t go green, but I figured Bruce’ll be stressed out. And while they sort out what’s going on with Bucky, you’ll be in charge of Edie.”

“She’s welcome as long as they need me to have her. But if you want me on deck to calm Bruce down someone needs to be on deck to take the kids.”

“That’ll be me and Ora,” Jane said. “Darcy’s got to get back to the med building and organize the troops. But I’ll stick around.” She smiled and rubbed Edie’s back. “Strength in numbers.”

Violet did her best to run the rest of the day like it was any other afternoon, despite the worry that was tearing up her insides. Having Jane there helped a lot. Ada adored her and was very happy to have an astrophysicist help with her homework, even if she did have to share with Neil. It left Violet free to deal with the toddlers and start dinner. Ora arrived in time to eat with them and three pairs of hands made it that much easier.

After dinner, Pepper called and said she felt up for getting Ruby to bed, so Ora walked her over while Violet and Jane cleaned up and entertained the remaining kids.

They heard the jet go over as they were starting bedtime for the little ones. Violet’s stomach clenched in anticipation - or maybe dread. When there was no immediate call for her from FRIDAY she assumed it meant Bruce was doing all right and continued reading The Lorax to their little group.

It wasn’t until everyone was tucked in and snoring that FRIDAY came over the intercom. “Mrs. Marsh, Doctor Newbury-Barnes has requested you bring her daughter to the medical building.”

She opened her mouth to protest but it died on her tongue. If Amanda wanted Edie at the building she had a very good reason for it. She looked over at Jane and saw her concern mirrored in the other woman’s face.

“Go,” Jane said, making a shooing gesture with her hands. “I’ll hold down the fort.”

Violet nodded and started jogging up the stairs to the guest room Edie was sleeping in. “FRIDAY, bring one of the carts around to the front of the house.”

The little girl was quite grumpy about being woken up, but obligingly hung onto Violet as they rode out to the medical building. Violet carried her inside and was met by Darcy, who waved them upstairs and down the hall to Lani Yee’s office.

Inside was very crowded. Amanda, Steve, Wanda and Lani were all mingling about, looking at Bucky, who was very thoroughly strapped to a gurney propped upright. Violet’s stomach sank at the sight of him, and the dead, detached look in his eyes.

Edie, on the other hand, brightened immediately and held her arms out for Amanda. “Mommy!”

Amanda reached out and took her one handed, holding the other arm awkwardly at her side. Violet had enough time to wonder if it was broken when Bucky started having what looked like a seizure on the gurney. She took a step back, thinking she should go get Bruce or Sam, as Amanda was in no shape to be a doctor right now. Then Bucky relaxed and smiled at his daughter. And the whole room drained of tension.

Feeling very much like a third, or perhaps fifth, wheel, Violet backed out of the room. Amanda’s infirmary and medical office was next door and she poked her head in to find Bruce fitting a spiderweb looking cast onto Nat’s leg. Clint was hovering to one side, watching intently. Tony and Pietro were sitting on another exam table, holding an ice pack to their faces. “He’s back,” she said, causing everyone in the room to swivel and look at her.

“Back?” Tony asked, voice muffled and sort of nasal.

She slipped further into the room, going over the Bruce’s side. “Bucky. They had me bring Edie over and and that seems to have. . . snapped him out of it.”

“That’s excellent news,” Bruce said fiddling with something on Nat’s cast and gesturing for her to hop down. She did so, walking over to join Clint without a word. Bruce turned and wrapped his arms around Violet. “Hello,” he murmured in her hair.

“Hi,” she whispered. “You two okay?”

“We are very relieved. And very happy to see you.” He gave her another tight squeeze, making her squeak a little, then leaned back. “Do you need to go back or do you want to be my assistant for a moment?”

“I can help, Jane and Ora are with the kids.”

He nodded and pointed to a bank of machines on one wall. “Tony’s cast should be done printing. Can you bring it over?”

She did so, while he started to inspect Tony’s nose. As he was working on Tony, Amanda, Bucky and the others came in to get looked at. Violet wasn’t much help medically, and both Amanda’s main nurses were on duty. So she ran down to the lounge and raided the vending machines to bring everyone snacks and drinks. 

Final injury count was two broken arms, a dislocated knee, broken nose and cracked cheekbone. Plus lots of cuts and bruises. Amanda ended up with a 3-D printed spiderweb cast on her arm and every time Violet looked she saw Bucky looking at it with a heartbreaking expression on his face.

Everyone on the team made a point of going over to him and reassuring him, either verbally or physically, that they didn’t blame him. Even Clint, who Violet would have expected to hold a grudge over anyone - even a friend - hurting Nat, went over and clapped a hand on Bucky’s shoulder. He said something Violet couldn’t hear that made Bucky smile and nod.

When everyone was patched up Bruce and the nurses made sure everyone got in a cart and was safely on their way home. Back at their house Ora had gone home and Thor had joined Jane in babysitting. “I felt this was the best use of my skills at the time,” he said with a gentle smile.

“Thank you,” Violet said. She put a foot on the coffee table and hopped up to kiss his cheek.

“Bucky is just fine,” Bruce added, putting a hand on her elbow to help her down. “Everyone is beat up. Sounds like the plan is to lick our wounds for a little while.” Thor’s brow furrowed and Bruce added, “We’re taking the next couple days off work.”

“Ah. Well then.” He reached for Jane, who took his hand. “We will take our leave. Have a good night.”

They said their goodbyes, then Bruce turned to her. “I’m exhausted.”

He looked it, too. Bruce could actually go a long while without sleep, much like Steve and Bucky could. But his age was starting to catch up with him and some of the benefits Hulk had given him were starting to fade.

“Well,” she said, sliding her arms around him. “Kids are in bed. Dinner dishes are cleaned up. Shall we turn in?”

“Yes, before you have to try to carry me upstairs.”

*

By all rights, Bruce should have slept twelve hours. But he was a father and a creature of habit and long used to an odd, unhealthy schedule. So, despite himself, he woke with the sun. Violet was fast asleep beside him, curled up with her back to him. Before they’d gone to bed she’d written emails to call the kids out of school and turned Ada’s alarm clock off, leaving her a note so she knew what was going on. Asima was almost certainly going to wake up earlier than they liked, but it might give her a little bit of sleeping in time.

He lay in bed for a little while, listening to Violet’s quiet breathing and watching silvery dawn light slowly fill the room. The incident with Bucky was almost certainly going to have some sort of fall out. There were rumblings - rumbling that he had been valiantly trying to ignore for the sake of his own sanity and stress levels - that any affection the government had for the Avengers was cooling. Something like this, even though it hadn’t caused any injury or damage to anyone but the team, could very much be spun to work against them.

But for right now he was in bed with the woman he loved. The children were asleep and no one was expecting either of them anywhere. So he rolled towards her and nuzzled at her shoulder. Violet sighed softly, but didn’t rouse. He tried again, hand flattening on her belly. Her nightgown was soft and warm under his palm and he slowly slid his hand down, nudging at her thighs. She sighed and stirred enough that he could tug her nightgown up to touch skin.

He could feel her wake up when his fingers brushed against the thatch of crisp hair covering her sex. She mumbled his name and stretched her legs, giving him access to slid his hand lower, stroking along her folds. He pressed a kiss to the back of her neck, then to the ticklish spot beneath her ear.

She giggled and lifted her shoulder as he’d expected, then sucked in a breath as he circled her clit with a finger. He leaned over and she turned her head to catch his mouth with hers. She softened under his hand as they kissed, growing slick as he stroked her. One of her hands lifted, tangling in his hair, and her kiss got more urgent. He felt her shudder, then she started to shake, sex pulsing against his hand. Soft, frantic noises bubbled out of her throat and he held her tightly as she rode it out.

When she’d calmed, he nudged her onto her back and she tucked her fingers into the waistband of his pajama bottoms, shoving them down his legs. Burgeoned by her obvious enthusiasm, he kissed her again, rougher, and tugged her leg up over his hip. Violet cupped his face and murmured his name as he shifted back and slid slowly inside her.

It was slow, but intense, as it often was. A sex life with kids in the house was a lesson in stolen moments and built up passion. Once in a while they could take their time. But Bruce found he loved these stolen moments when her nails clutched at his shoulders and her cries got louder and desperate.

He didn’t have as much patience as he might have liked - it had been a while and he had a lot of stress built up - so he snaked a hand between them and stroked her until she arched and tipped over the edge again, clenching around him. He buried his face into the crook of her neck and thrust harder for a few moments before burying deep and shuddering his own release.

Violet stroked his back as they calmed. “You’re in a good mood,” she murmured.

“I am _now_ ,” he replied, kissing her throat. In his head, the Hulk chuckled. Mercifully, he stayed silent when Bruce and Violet made love. The big guy seemed to be in favor of the act, Bruce was guessing mostly for the positive hormones it released. Beyond that, he tried hard not to think about what he was doing up in his subconscious during sex. The idea of a big green voyeur was a little beyond the pale.

“It was a nice way to wake up,” Violet said, brushing his hair out of his eyes.

He lifted his head and kissed her tenderly. “I love you.”

Eyes soft, she studied his face. “I love you, too. Always.”

He lowered his head, kissing her again. They let it go on for a few minutes, but he was a decade past anything resembling a ten minute rebound time, so eventually he rolled off of her and stretched out on his back. Violet tucked into his side and he wrapped his arm around her, trailing his fingertips along her ribs. The room was much brighter then it had been when he’d first woken up.

 “I was thinking about going to see Bucky,” he said, voicing a thought that had only just began to form. “I know we’re not close or anything, but-“

“If anyone knows what it’s like to cause an international incident it’s you?” she supplied.

“Essentially.” He sighed and kissed her hair. “You think it’s a good idea? Or should I back off?”

“I think Bucky needs all the help and support he can get. Maybe he won’t want advice. But I don’t think he can hear ‘It’s okay, I don’t blame you’ too often. And the others might be thinking the same thing you are about giving him space. It’s easy to misinterpret that as avoidance.”

He nodded and gave her a squeeze. “You want to come give him a mom hug?”

“That might be a little too much for him. But I will make you a batch of cookies to bring over, I’m told he has a sweet tooth.”


	6. Chapter 6

And so, after breakfast she and Ada whipped up a big batch of chocolate chip cookies. Bruce brought a tupperware full of a couple dozen over to the Barnes’s house. Amanda opened the door with Edie on her hip. She looked clearly surprised to see him, but smile. “Good morning, Bruce.”

“Hi. I, uh, brought cookies.” He lifted the box slightly.

Edie shrieked and reached for them “Cookies!” Amanda winced at the noise.

He lowered the container. “Sorry. I thought, maybe if he was all right with Bucky we could talk. Him and I. Not you and I. Well-“

“He’s still upstairs,” Amanda said gently. “But I think he’ll be down soon. Come in.”

She lead him back to the living room where they gave Edie a cookie. After she’d toddled off, Amanda took one as well.

“How are you?” Bruce asked softly.

“All right.” She sighed and sank onto the couch. “It was a long night. He had nightmares, was restless. He told me to sleep but I just. . .” She shook her head.

“Didn’t want to leave him alone.”

With a wry smile, she nodded and looked down. “I didn’t think he’d. . . do anything. It was for me. I almost lost him and every time I closed my eyes I saw him strapped to that damn table.”

There was the clomp of boots on the stairs and Bucky appeared in the doorway a moment later. His brows went up when he saw Bruce. “Hey.”

Bruce ignored the sudden certainty that this had been a terrible idea and Bucky wouldn’t care about anything he had to say. “Hi. I know you probably had a rough night but. . . if you wanted to talk, I’m here.”

There was silence a moment, then Bucky smiled a little. “Lani texted, said she’d be by in an hour. I could use some fresh air, you want to go for a walk?”

He got to his feet. “As long as you mean walk and not run.”

Bucky chuckled and stepped in the room long enough to kiss Amanda’s cheek and steal a couple cookies before they headed for the back door. The Barnes house butted up against the woods surrounding the compound. Bruce knew a lot of the team ran on some of the trails here and Bucky seemed to be leading him down one now.

They walked in silence for a while and Bruce realized the flaw to his plan. The closest thing he’d come to this sort of talk was when Tony had decided he needed to unload his life’s story onto him a few years back. Tony, of course, was a man who loved the sound of his own voice. Bucky tended to be on the quiet side. He and Clint had some sort of ability to speak with significant looks and mono syllables, but Bruce had never mastered it. He was probably going to have to man up and start the discussion.

Always best to start at the beginning, they say. “Immediately after my accident, I didn’t have any control over the Hulk. He would emerge at any sort of stimulation, any time my heart rate increased.”

Bucky gave him a sideways glance. “ _Any_ time?”

When he’d told Violet about the early days she’d been horrified that he couldn’t jog up a flight of stairs without risking a visit from the big guy. Men, men always went to the sex thing. “Yeah,” he confirmed. “I had a girlfriend at the time. Betty.” He smiled softly. “I thought I’d marry her one day, but after the accident and then everything with Bronsky and Harlem. . . It felt safer to walk away. He seemed to recognize and be gentle with Betty but I had no way to know if that would last or change. Alone seemed better.”

Bucky shoved his hands in his pockets. “The last time I was triggered it turned me off. Just. . .blank. No orders, no mission. I went blank and didn’t stop until Amanda knocked me out of it. This time I was there, I recognized people, I knew them, but it was through the lens of the Soldier. I knew Tony wasn’t a threat, that Nat was and I needed to take her out.” He paused. “I hesitated, before I hit Amanda. I remember being confused. But she was between me and my mission, so I had to take her out.” He swallowed hard, looking down.

**POOR STAR MAN.**

Goodness, when the Hulk was feeling sympathy for you, things were probably dire. “I know it’s hard. To have something in your head you can’t control. That you don’t trust. That you fear will hurt someone you love.” Hulk grumbled wordlessly and Bruce pressed on. “It’s better now. He and I made our peace a long time ago and what Wanda did made us more into. . . partners. He knows all of you. He’d tear the world apart to keep my kids safe, but he’d protect anyone here, really. And he understands you, I think. That you’re you and sometimes you’re not.”

**STAR MAN AND SOLDIER MAN.**

_Accurate, thank you._ “I’m sure your priority is to get rid of the triggers, find a way to make sure this won’t ever happen again. But I thought it might make you feel better to know that if it _did_ and I was there-“

“The Hulk would take care of me,” Bucky finished quietly.

“He would take pains not to kill you,” Bruce said and felt a little mental nod in response. “But he would ensure you couldn’t hurt anyone else.”

Bucky was silent as they followed the path. It had started to curve back towards the compound, they’d be homes in a few minutes. Bruce was starting to wonder if he’d said the wrong thing when the other man reached out and clapped him on the shoulder. “Thank you.”

It wasn’t the sort of thing he wanted to be thanked for. But it was a service he could provide, for lack of a better phrase. And he knew that it would be a comfort. Until he and Tony had built Veronica it was a reassurance he hadn’t had.

They broke through the tree line closer to his house than Bucky’s. So they said their goodbyes and went their separate ways.

*

Violet would have liked one more chat with Lani before talking to Pepper. But given how busy she was with Bucky and the experiments they were conducting with Wanda and his triggers, it didn’t feel right to ask her to carve out time. Pepper was her friend and this was a very normal sort of conversation to have between an employee and employer. So she called ahead to make sure she wasn’t sick or overwhelmed with Stark Enterprises stuff. When Pepper gave her rather enthusiastic approval Violet claimed a good luck kiss from Bruce before hiking over to the Stark’s house.

Pepper had gone on full bedrest earlier in the month. The inaction had chafed on her almost immediately and Tony had made her a modified version of the Hoverchair he’d invented for Lani. She still stayed in the house more than she’d probably like, but at least she could take care of herself during the day.

She looked very relieved to see Violet. “Please talk to me about something other than trade deals, product development, or my uterus.”

Violet hugged her and took a seat on the couch across from her. “I can assure you I come here to speak of none of those things.”

“Then please, continue.”

Violet hesitated, unsure how to begin. She’d never actually quit before. Her breaks from work had always been in conjunction with maternity leave, which was a very different and easier conversation. “It’s about the daycare center-“

“Oh, should we loop Darcy in? I know she has the preliminary plans.”

“No, I don’t think we need Darcy.”

Pepper had been reaching for the control pad on her chair but stopped and tilted her head, studying Violet. “Hey. What is it?”

Well, Pepper had almost certainly seen “I’m about to quit” face before. So Violet took a deep breath and said, “I love watching Ruby and Edie. And I can never thank you and Tony enough for the opportunity you gave me. It changed my life. But I don’t want to be a daycare administrator.”

She had expected Pepper to look upset or disappointed or even angry. She had not expected horrified.

“Oh my God,” she whispered, hand covering her mouth. “I’m turning into Tony. I didn’t even _ask_ you I just assumed and you didn’t-“

Violet laughed and waved her hands. “No, no. It’s all right. You’ve been busy and distracted and it was a natural-“

“I should have asked.” Pepper shook her head and sighed. “So do you want to stay as the main sitter? I’ll still need an administrator but we can think up a title for you that will make sure you’re equals.”

“Actually,” Violet said softly. “I’d like to do something different. Completely different.”

Her brows went up and she resettled in her chair, hand curving over her belly. “Like what?”

“I don’t know, actually. Maybe go back to school, maybe something else. It’s been hard to think about it or plan with the whole custody thing looming over my head. I just. . . know that I want a change.” She spread her hands. “I’m not ditching you tomorrow. I know the day care center needs to be built and I’ll help you find and hire an administrator and workers and interns. It can be a gradual process. But I wanted you to know so you wouldn’t be planning on me.”

“I appreciate it.” She smiled and just like that she was her friend Pepper and not her boss. “I’m really happy for you. And I knew when I came to you with that initial in-house, on call babysitter offer that it wasn’t a permanent solution.” Her chair hovered forward so Pepper could reach out and take her hand. “You’re smart and you’re kind and you’ve sacrificed so much for your children. You deserve to follow your own passion. I would feel terrible if I stood in the way of that in some way.”

Tears pricked the backs of her eyes and she leaned forward to hug her tightly. “Thank you.”

Pepper sniffled rather indelicately and they separated, both discreetly wiping their eyes. “If there’s anything I can do to help, let me know. I’m pretty sure a recommendation letter from the CEO of Stark Enterprises can get you into any college program in the country.”

Violet laughed and shook her head. “I will keep that in mind. I’m too late for any fall courses, but if I get going in the summer I might be able to apply for winter term.” She grinned. “Hell, maybe I’ll just take some time off. Eat bonbons on the couch.”

“I think you’ve earned that.”

They chatted for a little while, about career paths and motherhood and pregnancy. Violet went home in a far better mood than she’d expected to. Bruce was on the couch, Asima napping on his chest as he held files over his head to read. He lowered them and peered at her over his glasses. “How did it go?”

“Really well,” she said, bending to kiss him, then the top of Asima’s head.

“And how do you feel?”

“Lighter. A little afraid of the future. But it’s good. It’s invigorating.” She sat on the floor so she could lean her back on the couch. He ran his fingers through her hair. “I don’t remember the last time I didn’t have a plan. Even when I met you and I wasn’t working I had a schedule, a plan for the next few months at least. This feels like freedom only more terrifying.”

His fingers dug into the tense muscles at the top of her shoulders. “When I first came to the Tower with Tony I felt sort of like that. I’d been on the run for so long, looking over my shoulder. Now I was safe, in the middle of Manhattan and kind of a hero. It was wonderful, being able to use my brain, my skills. Having Tony determinedly not afraid of me. Freeing, like you said. But overwhelming. All the people, the noise. I almost ran half a dozen times.”

“Why didn’t you?” she asked, closing her eyes as he rubbed her back.

He sighed. “One day I realized Tony wasn’t the only one who wasn’t afraid of me. That as fragile and strange as it felt it wasn’t temporary. Unless I made it so. And I didn’t want it to be.” He dug his thumb into the top of her shoulder. “After that I started taking it seriously, planning larger project, longer timelines. It was a turning point. But I think I needed that time of uncertainty. Or I wouldn’t have trusted my good fortune.”

“And then you met me and it was all worthwhile.”

He rumbled a chuckle and leaned over to kiss the top of her head. “Yes it was.”

*

It was, perhaps, the first mission briefing in history done by someone with an infant strapped to their chest.

Sharon was at the head of the conference room, Joey fast asleep in a blue carrier with drawings of maps all over it. She was bouncing gently as she talked and every so often the baby would peep contentedly.

“In addition to dealing with Congress, I’ve begun reestablishing contacts within the various three letter organizations,” she said as the last of the team took their seats. “Last night, my guy in the CIA sent me some information on a series of robberies the JTTF has been tracking.”

Wanda raised her hand. “That had four letters.”

“Joint Terrorism Task Force,” Nat said before Sharon could reply. “Why are they tracking robberies?”

“Because the targets have been police stations.” She tapped a button on her computer and a series of pictures popped up. “All in high-crime, war torn countries. All with armories that could supply a small army. The thieves have been indiscriminate, killing on-duty officers and bystanders alike and cleaning out the armories. The guns have already begun showing up in the hands of terrorists. The last robbery was in the Republic of Congo. And they got a picture.”

She tapped another button and the screen cleared, only to be filled by a grainy, security camera picture of a man in black body armor and a mask. Bruce had never seen him before but several of the others shifted as if in recognition.

Steve spoke up, sounding grim. “Intel indicates that’s Brock Rumlow. He’s using the codename Crossbones now.”

“Wait.” Tony waved a hand. “Rumlow? The-guy-who-tried-to-kill-Sharon Rumlow?”

“The same,” Sharon said with a little nod. “After his attempt on my life he was questioned by several agencies and turned state’s evidence against his Hydra bosses. I’m told his information put at least two behind bars. But it allowed him to walk in a matter of months. Naturally once he was out of prison he went underground. He’s been in the wind for six months.”

“Until now,” Nat said.

“Right.” Joey kicked his feet and Sharon stepped up the bouncing. “We’ve requested and received permission to go big on this. All hands on deck. They only ask that we try to bring him in alive.” There was a series of snorts around the table. “I know, I know. But Rumlow’s not really an idea man. Odds are good he’s working for someone else, maybe the terrorists he’s selling to, maybe some sort of collective like the Ten Rings. Or even one of the scattered heads of Hydra. In any case, he’s small game and JTTF wants the bigger fish.”

“We can beat him up, though, right?” Tony said. “Bruises can happen? A fall down a flight of stairs?”

“I can probably explain that,” Sharon conceded with a smile. “Anyway. Intel indicates his next hit is going to be in Nigeria. Lagos, to be precise.” A new photo popped up on the screen, of a simple one story building on a dusty street. “If the pattern continues, he’ll be hitting this building in three days. We’re cleared to stop him.”

Bruce’s stomach clenched and he cleared his throat. “I, uh, can’t.” Every head in the room swiveled to look at him. “Friday is the mediation hearing, it’s been scheduled for over a month.”

“Shit,” Tony muttered. “I can’t go either. I’m supposed to be a character witness.”

Thor cleared his throat awkwardly. “I assured Violet that I would be on hand should the worst happen and her children needed to be taken to safety.”

Sharon sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Okay. Anyone else?”

There was silence, then Vision raised a finger. “I had offered to watch the children during the meeting.”

Feeling torn between guilt and amusement Bruce offered, “I could try to reschedule.”

“No,” Steve said firmly, looking at Joey. “The hearing is important for you and Violet. And I don’t think cancelling it and having pictures of Hulk tearing up an African city is going to do anything for your case. Even if it is for an authorized mission.” He nodded. “Go to the hearing. All of you. We still have more than enough people to handle Rumlow and his team.”

“Thank you,” Bruce said quietly.

Steve looked over at him. “We’re family. Family comes first. Otherwise, why are we doing this?”

Bruce nodded in acknowledgement and appreciation. The meeting continued around him. He didn’t really need to be there anymore, but it seemed rude to get up and leave, so he sat, scrolling through emails on his phone.

Truth be told a lot of the mission briefings he went to were like this. Hulk was the biggest of big guns and was only used in desperate situations. Just as often he wasn’t invited or didn’t go to the meetings at all. Time was coming, he hoped, that he would be a team member in name only. Transitioning into the Hulk was easier than it had once been, thanks to Wanda’s help. But it was still physically demanding and sometimes left him exhausted for hours afterwards. He wasn’t getting any younger and while the presence of the Hulk offered him certain strength and health benefits, he was still in many respects a middle aged man. Probably long overdue for a thrown disc or cardiac scare.

Violet was out in the playground with the kids when the meeting wrapped up and he headed back home. She didn’t notice him until he was almost at the bench she was sitting on and when she did look up her smile was distracted. “How was the meeting?”

“Good. I guess.” He sank into the bench next to her. “Hard to quantify a meeting about a mercenary robbing police stations and selling weapons and combat gear to terrorists.”

She made a face. “That’s awful. Are you going to stop him?”

“Yes. Well, not me. His next heist is planned for the same day as the mediation hearing.” Violet looked at him sharply. “Tony, Thor, Vision and I all bowed out. That still leaves the majority of the team, including both super soldiers, two spies and the girl who moves things with her mind. I wouldn’t be betting on the gun runners.”

“Are you sure? If they’re going to be short handed we could probably-“

He rubbed her back. “I made the same offer and Steve assured me it was fine. From what I understand Rumlow - the mercenary - is careful. Having several of our flashier members sidelined might turn out to be a good thing.”

Mollified, she leaned back into his rubbing. “If you’re sure.”

“I am.” They were silent a while, watching the girls play in the sandbox while Neil scaled the rock climbing wall they’d installed in the fall. “We’re going to have to get a taller one of those, soon.” Neil was a natural climber and rather determined to get as high off the ground as possible. One of these days they were going to find him stuck at the top of one of the old growth trees surrounding them. Vision would probably have to fly up to get him.

“We could just get him proper climbing equipment and accept our fate.”

“He’s probably really enjoy that.” He watched the kids another moment. “Are you happy, Violet?”

“I’m nervous about Friday’s meeting. And I’m still a little lost about what I’m going to do once I’m not watching the kids anymore but-“ Her brow furrowed and she looked over at him. “Wait. Did you mean happy with you?” He shrugged awkwardly and she leaned back. “Bruce, where is this coming from?”

He wasn’t entirely sure himself. The question had come out before he’d really had time to think it through. But now that it was out, maybe it was the start of a long overdue conversation. “Since we’ve met you’ve had your life uprooted twice. Moved out to Ithaca. Now I’m the reason someone is trying to take your children away. I just thought. . . maybe you have to wonder if I’m worth it.”

Her mouth opened and closed, then she reached over and took his hand. “Bruce. I love you. That is not conditional on it being easy or without risk. I knew who you were and what you did a long time ago. No matter what happens on Friday I’m never going to regret loving you. You are worth it.”

It was the answer he’d expected. And he believed her. But it was nice, given his history, to hear it once in a while. He reached over and drew her close for a kiss. “Whatever happens Friday,” he said quietly. “We’ll handle it together.”

Violet smiled and cuddled into his side. “I know.”


	7. Chapter 7

Tribbey met them outside the mediator’s office. He was a tall, lanky man with a shock of white hair, and a very expensive suit. He greeted everyone with a handshake, then directed his words to Violet and Bruce. “Right. When we go in, let me do the talking. They’re probably going to come in with big demands, trying to put us on the defensive. They want us to give first, right? So I need poker faces from both of you. I know what you’re willing to do and what’s not on the table, so there’s no need to pop in. They see they’re upsetting you and they’ll go for the throat, got it?”

They nodded, then Violet couldn’t help asking, “Do you really think this will do any good?”

He leaned back and rocked on his heels. “Do I think we’re going to come to some mutually agreeable decision? No, I do not. This is going to be an hour of arguing across the table with no solution. When we eventually get in front of a judge I hope that this meeting being on record will prove that we’re being accommodating. This is a shell game now and I want to have all the pieces.”

That was a rather tortured metaphor, but she followed his point. This was theater before they could get to the main event. Her job was to look unaffected by whatever was said. Bruce rubbed her back wordlessly.

Tribbey looked at Tony and Thor now. “I’d like you two to stay in the lobby unless we need you. Does us no good to go in too strong.”

Tony was clearly unhappy about being left out in the cold. But they both nodded and then it was time to go inside.

Helen was already at the table with whom Violet assumed was her lawyer. She looked very much the same as she had the last time Violet had seen her. Older, thinner, greyer. There was a cane propped next to her chair and Violet had the rather unkind thought that it might have been more for show than necessity.

The lawyers shook hands but Helen didn’t so much as look her way so Violet didn’t acknowledge her either. She sat in one of the uncomfortable wooden backed chairs and folded her hands in her lap.

The mediator arrived and there was a round of introductions. Violet smiled politely, as did Bruce. Then Helen’s lawyer pulled out a sheaf of paper and started ticking off demands. It was, as expected, full custody with no visitation for Violet. There was more to it, legalese to pad the blow, she supposed. But that was the long and short of it. Violet kept her face neutral, even when Tribbey called the proposal ridiculous.

That was when the arguing started. It was _polite_ arguing, with the mediator sitting right there, but arguing none the less. They were throwing out words she couldn’t really follow, and as such her mind started to wander. Presumably someone would poke her if something really catastrophic was said or agreed to.

Her fantasy of Thor burning the building down with lightning and whisking them all away from this unpleasantness was shattered when Helen spoke for the first time.

“Does he have to be here?”

The lawyers quieted. Helen’s leaned over to whisper something to her and the mediator said, “I’m sorry, Mrs. Marsh. What?”

“I said, does he have to be here?” This with a gesture at Bruce, who took a long slow breath but didn’t otherwise react.

Tribbey looked like he was winding up for a really good rebuttal but the mediator beat him to it. “Do you have a reason he shouldn’t be?”

Helen straightened her shoulders. “He doesn’t belong here. The suit doesn’t name him. He’s not married to Violet. He’s not the children’s father and never will be.” She gestured to the door. “I find his presence threatening and would like him to leave.”

Blood roared in Violet’s ears, so loud she almost missed the mediator gently saying, “Dr. Banner, would you mind-“

They were going to throw him out. Ask Bruce to go sit with Tony and Thor in the other room and leave her here alone. Across from this woman she had once tried so hard to impress. The only father Neil had ever really known and apparently he didn’t have the right to sit here.

Something inside Violet snapped. Weeks of stress and uncertainty and a vague sense of guilt and shame that someone was judging her decisions had all built up. And now they had shattered something and she felt oddly at peace. She didn’t even sound angry when she spoke. “He’s more their father than you are their grandmother.”

Tribbey reached across Bruce, fingers spread in a placating gesture. Helen sucked in a breath and started to say, “How dare you,” but Violet was tired of being nice.

“What’s Ada’s favorite book? Her best friend’s name? What art style is her favorite? Does she like watercolors or oil pastels better? What was Neil’s first word? His first sentence? How many hours a week does he have therapy?”

“Violet-“ 

She didn’t even know who said it, she waved them off. She was on a roll now. “How many honors medals did Ada get at school this year? Does Neil like riding his bike better or climbing? What does Ada want to be when she grows up?”

Helen was glancing at the lawyers and mediator for help. “I don’t see how any of this is relevant-“

The mediator’s brows went up. “I’d say much of that is very relevant, if you want to be the sole guardian of these children.”

“She doesn’t think it’s relevant because she _doesn’t_ want to be their guardian,” Violet said, staring her down. “She just doesn’t want me to have them.”

Helen’s lawyer held up a hand. “Let’s just take a deep breath-“

“Of course I don’t want you to have them,” Helen snapped. “You’re a flighty, irresponsible woman who has dragged those poor children all over the state following a group of superheroes like some sort of groupie.”

“Let me guess, you think Ada is really Tony Stark’s?”

“I wouldn’t put it past you.”

Despite how ridiculous it was and how very much she didn’t like the woman, that stung. “Of course you wouldn’t. You never liked me. Or the kids, if we’re being honest. You know what Ada’s only memory of you is? You telling her little girls should be seen and not heard. She was _three_ and crying because her father was dead. At Hal’s funeral you told anyone who would listen that I was only crying to get attention.” Helen’s mouth thinned out, confirming something Violet had only been mostly sure of before. It bolstered her just as she might have run out of steam.

“You’re a spiteful, angry, _bitter_ woman,” she told Helen. “And you are never going to have custody of my children. You talk about me following superheroes around? I go _shoe shopping_ with Pepper Potts. And when I walk out of here I’m going to call her. And she’s going to send Mr. Tribbey a dozen of her favorite lawyers. They’re going to give you twenty four hours to withdraw your suit. If you don’t, they will bury you in legal briefs and appeals and I don’t know what else. You’ll be filling out paperwork in your _tomb_.” She stood, gathering up her jacket and purse. “You think the Hulk is scary? I’m the one you should worry about. You tried to take my kids from me.”

There was a heartbeat of silence. Helen wouldn’t even meet her eyes anymore. So she shoved her chair away and headed for the door. She heard Bruce get up before she hit the doorway.

*

Bruce chased Violet through the lobby and back out to the street, waving Tony and Thor off when they jumped up at their exit.

Violet made it halfway down the block before he caught her arm. “Hey.”

“I’m sorry,” she blurted out, turning to him. “I’m sorry. I know I was supposed to be quiet and let the lawyers handle it but I just couldn’t-“

“I know, I know.” He caught her arms and held her till she looked at him. “It’s okay. Okay? It’s fine. Tribbey will handle it. And we’ll go home and have Tony and Pepper call those dozen lawyers and Helen won’t know what hit her. Okay?”

She nodded, taking a deep breath. Then another. “I feel better,” she said finally. “I know that’s crazy. I might have just ruined everything. But that felt really good.”

“I bet it did.” He didn’t think he’d ever seen Violet like that. She was the epitome of quiet strength. Even when the kids were at their worst she was more likely to step out of the room before raising her voice.

He supposed this was the first time he’d ever seen her truly angry. It had been, if he was being honest, a thing of beauty.

“Marry me,” he said.

She froze and stared up at him. Her mouth opened and closed a couple times, then she shrugged off his hands. “Are you - What? You’re asking me _now_? Here? After all this time and everything we’ve been through you propose now? We’re outside a lawyers office on a street corner in Albany.”

That was a very good point. He glanced around quickly before offering, “There’s no garbage can.”

Planting her fists on her hips she spoke through gritted teeth. “Albany. Street corner.”

**STUPID BANNER.**

“Right.” He shook his head. “I’m sorry. I’ve been thinking about it for weeks - months. I must have almost said it a dozen times. I always got tangled up in it not being perfect or doubting myself.”

Her face softened. “Bruce. I don’t need perfect.”

“I know. I know. I just. . . want to give it to you.” He sighed. “I’m sorry I proposed on a street corner. We can just forget it happened. I’ll - I’ll get a ring and do it properly and we can-“

“Yes,” she said quietly.

He stopped short. “What?”

“Yes,” she repeated. “I’ll marry you.”

Everything seemed to freeze for a moment. Even the Hulk was silent. Then his face split into a grin. “Yes?”

Violet giggled and bounced on her toes a little. “Yes.”

He was going to wake up any moment. “Really?”

“ _Yes_.”

She hopped or he reached and the next thing he knew she was in his arms and they were kissing. He spun her around, like the end of a movie.

**GOOD JOB, BANNER.**

_Thanks, big guy._

He was seriously considering just finding a hotel room rather than putting up with the Tony-teasing on the plane back home, when the black limo they’d drove from the airport in pulled up next to them. Bruce lifted his head and looked over as the back window slid down. “Get in,” Tony said, leaning out a little. “There’s a problem, we have to get back.”

Apparently he was only allowed twenty seconds of joy today. He set Violet down and reached to pull the door open so she could climb in. When she was settled he slid in as well, pulling the door closed behind him. Tony and Thor sat across from them, Violet had ended up across from the Asgardian, preventing any leg room issues.

“What happened?” Violet asked when the car started moving again.

In response, Tony pulled out his phone and flicked it, bringing up the hologram picture. An image of a building with several floors burnt out and smoldering appeared in the middle of the car. Violet covered her mouth with a hand, eyes wide.

“Is that Lagos?” Bruce asked

Tony nodded solemnly. “Steve called in. Rumlow had a suicide vest, set if off a few inches from him, on a crowded street. Wanda tried to contain it, toss it up to the atmosphere. . .” He gestured to the image of the building. “Didn’t make it in time.”

Wanda would almost certainly be blaming herself. As much control as she’d gained over her powers, she still struggled. The guilt of this would weigh on her a very long time. Bruce knew from personal experience.

“They stuck around to help with evacuation,” Tony said. “But local authorities were getting twitchy and the press had started to circle, Steve made the call to vacate. They’ll be home before morning.” He snapped his wrist and the image disappeared.

“There’s going to be fallout from this,” Bruce said grimly. “Especially after the incident with Bucky last month.”

“We look weak,” Thor rumbled. “Disorganized. We cannot control our own members.”

Tony shifted in his seat, looking out the window. “It’s bullshit. Rumlow was the one with the bomb, he’s the one that set it off.”

“They’re still going to blame Wanda,” Bruce said gently.

For the first time since getting in the car Violet spoke. “Is this - If you three had been there, if _Vision_ had been there-“

“It would not have changed anything,” Thor said. “Or it could have changed everything. There’s no way to know and letting your mind wander down that path is a road to madness.” He reached out and took her hand. “We needed to be here. It was important. It’s a tragedy that people died but it is not your fault, or Wanda’s. As Tony said, Rumlow set off the bomb.”

Bruce had always appreciated Thor’s unique outlook of violence and death. Some of it was certainly because of his long lifespan. But he was also a warrior, a soldier. He had lead armies. It gave him a rather practical point of view when it came to the work they did.

He looked at Tony and waited until he met his gaze. “What are we going to do?”

Tony shook his head. “Bunker down, close ranks. See where the shit lands after it hits the fan.”

The ride back to the compound was quiet. Violet sat curled at his side, fingers woven in with his. Today should have been triumphant. Violet’s outburst might have ruined their chances at peaceful mediation, but if she was willing to take the gloves off he was pretty sure Tony’s lawyers would crush Helen, no matter how far she wanted to take the suit. And despite the inelegant way he’d done it, Violet had agreed to marry him. They should be planning a wedding, instead they were wondering exactly how badly shaken their friends were by a bomb going off. And how bad the fallout might be from that event.


	8. Chapter 8

The rest of the team got in very late, long after the rest of them were asleep. It was Saturday, so Violet didn’t have to get anyone up for school, or watch the other children. She still woke early, with nothing to do. So she baked.

“How many desserts do you expect Wanda to eat?” Bruce asked as she pulled out her famous chocolate cobbler.

“The streusel is for Wanda,” she told him, kicking the oven door closed. “This is for Steve.”

“Why is Steve getting sympathy desserts?”

“He watched a guy get blown up, almost died with him, and probably feels like everything is his fault. ‘Cause he’s Steve.”

Bruce considered that a moment, then nodded. “You’d better bring your hugging stool.”

“I intend to.” She checked the timer of her pie - that was staying here for the kids - and sat at the table next to him. “I hate feeling helpless.”

He reached over and stroked he hair. “I know. But there’s nothing to do right now except wait.”

She nodded. “I just. . . I should be happy. Telling all the girls about you finally proposing, planning the wedding. But I feel awful just thinking about it.”

“Hey,” he said softly. He reached out and tugged her chair closer, sliding an arm around her. “There are always going to be bad things happening. We don’t stop our life because of it. There’s been enough grief and bad news here. I like to think our friends would be happy for us, no matter what is going on elsewhere.”

Sniffling, she leaned on his shoulder. “I know.”

Overhead, FRIDAY chimed. “Dr. Banner, Mrs. Marsh, there is a call for you from your lawyer, Mr. Tribbey.”

Violet rubbed her eyes, wondering if she was about to get chewed out for yelling at Helen yesterday. “Put him through, FRIDAY.”

There was a quiet beep that indicated the call had been patched and Bruce said, “Hello Lionel,” in the general direction of the ceiling.

“Bruce, good morning. Is Violet around?”

Well, at least he sounded perky. “I’m here, too, you’re on speaker.”

“Excellent, I’m ready to hire you for my negotiations team.”

Brow furrowing, she lifted her head off Bruce’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, what?”

“After you two left yesterday, things got interesting. The mediator tried to get Helen to answer some of those questions you asked her. She fumbled a bit, but it was obvious she had no clue what she was talking about. She left the meeting red-faced, tail between her legs.”

Violet looked at Bruce, wide-eyed. “That’s good for us, right?” he asked.

“Better than good. I just got word from her representation this morning. They’re withdrawing their custody suit. Guess he convinced her the mediation was not going to swing her way and if it went to court. . . wasn’t going to look good.”

“Wait,” she said. “So that’s. . . it? All that and I just had to yell at her?”

“What is it they say about bullies? As soon as you fight back? She came on pretty strong but we knew from the beginning it was mostly hot air. You proved you were gonna fight her with bigger guns than she’d expected. If she were my client, I’d have advised caution, too.” He paused. “With your permission, I’ll move forward with Bruce’s adoption paperwork.”

Never in her life had she ever been speechless out of joy. She threw her arms around Bruce and he hugged her tight, rocking back in his chair. “Yes,” he called out to Tribbey. “Definitely yes.”

“That’s what I figured. I’ll get to filing paperwork and keep you posted. Congrats, kids.”

“Thank you,” they chorused and ended the call.

Violet leaned back and dropped kisses all over Bruce’s face. “I can’t believe it.”

He laughed and hugged her, squirming a little when she hit ticklish spots. “I know, I know.” He leaned back and smiled at her. “See? Good things happen.”   
“Yes, they do.” She blew out a breath. “Oh. I feel so much lighter. I had no idea how much that had been bothering me until this moment.”

Bruce lifted her onto her feet. “You know what would probably make Wanda feel a hell of a lot better? Someone in as good a mood as you are bringing her pastries.”

“That is a great idea.” She leaned in to kiss him one more time. “Can you wrap the streusel in some foil and tea towels? I’ll go put some shoes on.”

“Not really sure what a tea towel is, but I’ll do my best.” She chuckled and went to find her ballet flats. A few minutes later she was knocking on the Maximoffs’ door.

Zev opened it and smiled at her. She fumbled the towel wrapped pastry to free her hands enough to sign, “Hi. Is Wanda taking visitors?” He looked like he was about to answer in the negative so she added, “I’m in a very good mood.”

He smiled at that and nodded. “Okay. Come in. She’s up in our room.” He took the streusel from her and shooed her upstairs.

The Maximoffs (and Zev) lived in a gorgeous old house original to the property. The two couples had been co-habitating for a while, Zev and Wanda on the top floor and Pietro and Ora on the second with the first floor shared space. With Ora and Pietro’s child on the way, she assumed one of those rooms would be a nursery soon.

Wanda’s was curled up in the middle of her big, heavy wood bed. She lifted her head to look up when Violet came in. “You _are_ in a good mood,” she said with the faintest smile.

“Were you listening in?” Being friends with a psychic took some adjusting. Violet felt she’d adapted rather well.

“Zev told me you were coming up.” She shifted and sat up as Violet came over to sit on the bed. “Tell me what’s happened. Cheer me up.”

“Well, Hal’s mother had withdrawn her custody suit. We’re free to have Bruce adopt them.” Wanda beamed and reached out to hug her. Violet squeezed her tightly, stroking her hair. Wanda sighed softly and leaned on her. There were very few people on this team who didn’t require a mom hug once in a while.

“And what else?” Wanda asked after a moment, voice muffled in Violet’s shirt.

“Bruce asked me to marry him.”

That made her sit up and squeal. “Finally!”

Violet laughed and nodded. “Yes. On a street corner in Albany.”

“But no garbage can?”

“No. No garbage can.”

Wanda leaned back, tucking her legs up to her chest and wrapping her arms around her knees. “So tell me everything about the wedding. Have you started planning?”

“Only a little.” They hadn’t had much opportunity to talk, but they had shared some excited murmurs before going to sleep the night before. “We just want something small, almost everyone we care about is here. We were actually thinking of just dong something on the lake in a couple weeks.” She paused, then added, “We were hoping you’d officiate.”

Surprise was clear on Wanda’s face. “Me? But I-“

“You did a lovely job at your brother’s wedding. And. . . you’re the reason Bruce feels comfortable getting married. If you hadn’t given him a line of communication with the Hulk-“ Violet shook her head. “Our lives would be very different.”

“I’m not sure,” she said uncertainly.

Violet reached out and touched her hand, curling her fingers around it when Wanda hesitantly peeled it off her leg. “I know you’re upset about yesterday. It was awful. And it’s natural to want to blame yourself. Your powers are big and scary and sometimes it’s hard to control them. But I don’t ever, _ever_ want you to forget the good you’ve done with them as well. Bruce owes you more than he can ever say. You’re an important part of our lives. We’d like you to have an equally important part of our wedding.”

Tears shimmered in Wanda’s eyes, but she smiled and reached out for another hug. “I would be honored.”

*

If Bruce had ever doubted that they had the best friends in the world, planning his wedding would have convinced him for sure. In less than a week they cobbled together a wedding as nice as anything he could have imagined.

Violet rather liked the idea of getting married on campus, by the lake. It was well and truly spring, the weather warm and clear, so it seemed like a good a plan as any. Clint and Bucky built an archway on the far side, bringing the supplies across on the pontoon boat. Nat and Sharon bought flowering vines and started them twining through the slats. Darcy arranged for chairs and catering.

Bruce hadn’t known you could plan a decent dinner party in six days while also dealing with an international incident, let alone a wedding. But here he was, standing under a flower entwined archway, in a new suit, with Tony at his side and all his friends seated around them. He had no idea when a wedding limited to friends and “family” had started to mean fifty people, but that was the count, according to Violet. The team, their families, his assistants and colleagues from the labs. Violet’s parents were there, as were a handful of her friends - mostly parents she knew from Ada’s school and Neil’s therapists, past and present.

Music began to play, something soft and romantic he didn’t recognize, and Wanda stood from her spot in the front of the audience and joined him under the arch. She looked a little sad and more fragile than usual. But the smile she gave him was genuine. He nodded to her and she gestured with both hands. Cold torches lined the aisle and ends of each row of chairs. At her motion they all flared to life simultaneously. He knew she and Violet had discussed doing a light show the way she had at Pietro’s wedding, but had ultimately decided to keep it as something special she’d done for her brother. Still, she liked to use her powers for beauty, especially after the terrible things that had happened recently. The torches had been a compromise.

Ada appeared at the other end of the aisle, in a pretty white sundress, hair elaborately braided, courtesy of Thor. She managed to make it most of the way down the aisle before nerves for the better of her and she ran the last few feet to him. He scooped her up and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Good job, sweetheart.”

“It didn’t feel that long when we practiced,” she whispered.

“I know. It’s okay. Can you stand with Uncle Tony?” She nodded and he set her down to stand in the grass. Tony rumpled her hair and put an arm around her, hugging her.

The music changed and swelled and everyone stood, turning to look at the end of the aisle. Violet was there, probably having snuck around when everyone was watching him and Ada. Her hair was loose and curled and she held a little nosegay of violets.

And her dress was mint green.

She grinned at him as she started down the aisle. Sharon was crouched near his feet, getting pictures of her. She ducked back into her seat as Violet reached the archway. Bruce took her hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it. “I thought you hated green,” he whispered.

“It’s growing on me,” she replied softly.

Wanda gestured for the crowd to sit and started to speak. “We are gathered here today to witness the joining of two hearts and lives. The creation of a family, bonded by love as well as blood.” Bruce thought that described the whole group of them, not just he and Violet. He had no intention of marrying Pietro or Thor, though, so he didn’t say anything. It was a nice sentiment, and people could interpret it however they liked.

“Bruce and Violet have written their own vows,” Wanda continued.

Violet smiled and unwrapped a piece of paper from her bouquet. Her voice was a little shaky, but she managed to project her voice out over the crowd. “When I was a little girl, I believed in fairy tales. Damsels in distress, knights in shining armor. And for a while, I thought I was living one, that I’d found my happily ever after. Until it ended.” Her mouth trembled and he squeezed her hand to remind her he was right there with her.

“And then I met you,” she continued. “On a busy street, surrounded by hundreds of other people. And I learned that sometimes the knight came after the damsel had saved herself. That instead of armor they wore glasses and rumpled sweaters.” There was a twitter of laughter and she smiled. “I thought I had outgrown fairy tales, but really I just needed to believe in a different kind.” Her fingers squeezed his. “Thank you for teaching me that some stories start ‘Twice upon a time.’” There were tears shimmering in her eyes as she slid the heavy platinum ring on his finger.

This had been Violet’s idea, of course. The pit falls of marrying an English teacher, he supposed. He’d gotten a tremendous amount of help from the group, mostly from Lani helping him sort out his emotions. Tony had offered various rhyming couplets which Bruce had studiously ignored. Hulk had had some rather strong opinions as well. Bruce was happy with what he’d written, but after her speech and the emotional sniffling he heard from the crowd, he felt a little nervous as he started to speak.

“When I met you I was lonely. And angry. And not, in any way, looking for a way to change that. You. . .snuck up on me. Got through my walls. Reminded me I didn’t have to push every one away. You tamed my monsters, real and figurative.” Hulk grumbled in his head. They’d debated that line a lot. “I can say, without exaggeration, that you are the strongest person I know. A wise man once said that you are responsible, forever, for what you have tamed. But we would like to assure you that what you have tamed is responsible for you, as well. You have my heart, battered and bruised as it is, for the rest of my life.”

He lifted her hand and slipped a little diamond studded ring that matched his onto her finger, then kissed her knuckles. “Thank you for taming us.”

The tears that had been shining in her eyes had spilled over and she was holding his hand like he was the only stable thing in the whole world. “I am _so glad_ I went first,” she whispered.

Laughing, he bent to kiss her, then stopped and glanced at Wanda.

She waved a hand, wiping her eyes. “Yes, yes. Power vested in me, man and wife. Kiss your bride.”

There was a tradition in the group, unofficial, of dipping your wife at the Big Kiss. Violet was pretty close to the ground as it was, and Bruce was a little concerned that if he bent that far he’d never straighten up. So instead he wrapped his arms around her waist, kissed her and leaned back, lifting her off her feet. She squealed against his mouth, bending her legs as she slipped her arms around his shoulders and hung on tight.  
 The crowd exploded into applause far louder than they should have been capable of. Bruce ignored it for the moment, enjoying his very first kiss with his wife.

When they parted he set her down on her feet, grinning like an idiot. He took her hand firmly in his, weaving their fingers together so they could head back down the aisle together. Tony had offered to get them a limo to take them back around the lake, but Bruce and Violet had chosen to use one of the electric carts for privacy and simplicity. The rest of the guests would head back over in boats or other carts.

Bruce helped Violet get settled before climbing in himself. “Wait a moment, FRIDAY,” he said. “Let’s give the rest of them a head start.”

Resting her head on his shoulder, Violet sighed happily. “Hello husband.”

He kissed the top of her head. “Mrs. Banner.”

**ABOUT TIME.**

“Hi, Hulk,” Violet said.

Bruce could actually feel the Big Guy’s shock. “How did-“

“Your posture changes a little when he talks. After all this time I can tell.”

He tucked his arm around her shoulders, hugging her close. “I’m sorry I took so long.”

“It’s all right,” she said, rubbing his knee. “We both came into this relationship with issues. If we couldn’t adapt to each other’s we never would have lasted this long.”

The rest of the carts had left, which FRIDAY seemed to decide that counted as a head start and started theirs puttering around the edge of the lake. “You wanna ditch the party and have a quiet night at home?” he asked hopefully.

“No.” She lifted her head to kiss his cheek. “But I will act as a buffer between you and the crowd, because I’m good at that.”

“One of many reasons I love you.”

It wasn’t as bad as he’d feared. Tony announced their arrival at the reception like the MC at a prize fight because of course he did. They sat with Tony and Pepper and the kids and it felt almost like any other Saturday night dinner with his friends.

After the meal had and Violet made their way around the crowd saying hello to everyone. His tolerance for schmoozing was pretty low, so once they’d gone through a few tables she dropped him off with some of the other introverts and continued on the circuit.

“I have literally never seen you smile this much in the entire time I’ve known you,” Bucky commented.

“It’s a very good day,” Bruce told him, watching Violet hold court with some of the lab assistants. “Too long in coming.”

“Congratulations, Bruce,” Nat said, raising her glass to him. “You deserve it.” Clint and Bucky clinked their glasses with hers. Bruce didn’t have a drink so he couldn’t participate.

“I think we all needed a party, too,” Nat added, sipping her wine. “A little joy to balance out the grief.”

It had been a hell of a few months. Leaving aside their troubles with Helen Marsh, there had been Bucky being triggered, the pressure and discord from the government that everyone knew Sharon was dealing with, plus the bombing last week. Some might have thought it was a very strange time to have a wedding. But they were all people used to grief and suffering. They grabbed joy and peace where they could.

“Maybe this will change the tide,” Bruce said, in a moment of uncharacteristic optimism. The rest of them gave him various incredulous looks and he shrugged. “Stranger things have happened.”

He was married to a wonderful woman. They had three brilliant, beautiful children. He was surrounded by good friends that trusted him and he trusted in return. 

Strange things could definitely happen.

*

For her first marriage, Violet had gone to England for her honeymoon. This had been after convincing her husband, Hal, that while the Jersey Shore was lovely, a honeymoon should be a once in a lifetime trip.

This time, she and Bruce had bounced around all manner of potential destinations. He’d even offered to take her back to the UK, which had been tempting. However, it was the sort of trip that really demanded a week or two to see everything, especially because this time she hoped to spend time in Scotland and maybe Ireland in addition to Britain. It was an awfully long time to be apart from the kids, and they had really wanted some alone time for the honeymoon.

So they’d decided on three kid-free days in Hawaii courtesy of Tony’s vacation home. Then in the summer, once the adoption paperwork had gone through, the whole family would do a tour of Europe to celebrate.

“Honey,” Bruce said from the doorway. “It’s three days. On our honeymoon. You need a bathing suit and two sundresses. Tops.”

She gave him what she hoped was a withering glare before returning to her repacking. “I’m just making sure it’s organized. I think I can get us down to one suitcase.”

“You know they don’t charge us extra when we take Tony’s jet.”

“Married sixteen hours and you’re teasing me,” she complained, throwing a rolled up pair of socks at him.

He dodged it, laughing. “Nonsense, I find your foibles adorable.”

“Hmph. Points for use of the word foible.” She pointed imperiously at the suitcase. “I’m done.”

As he came into the room to grab it, the ceiling chimed. “Mrs. Rogers is at the door. She said she needs to speak to you urgently,” FRIDAY announced.

Violet and Bruce exchanged a look and she felt a pit of dread grow in her stomach. “We’ll be right there,” Bruce said, putting the suitcase down.

They headed downstairs and found Sharon in the living room, a grim look on her face. “Is anyone dead?” Violet asked first. Everyone had left the party fine, but in this bunch it seemed good to check.

Sharon smiled faintly. “Everyone is fine. But I’m probably about to ruin your day, anyway.”

Behind her, Bruce sighed. “What is it?”

“I just got a call from DC. The Secretary of State will be here tomorrow and demands a meeting with the entire team.” She paused for that to sink in. “You can’t go to Hawaii.”

Bruce’s hand had tightened almost painfully on hers but Violet didn’t comment. “This would be Secretary Ross?”

“Yes. Apparently this is their response to the bombing. I imagine Bucky’s triggering will come up as well.” Sharon spread her hands. “It’s really important we appear accommodating. I can’t have Bruce missing.”

“It’s my _honeymoon_ ,” Bruce said, sounding far calmer than Violet might have expected.

Sharon looked miserable. “I’m so sorry. I can’t change it.”

Violet let the wave of disappointment rush through her and then forced it to pass. This was the life of an Avenger. Sharon had had to cut her maternity leave short. God knew how many vacations and romantic nights had been ruined for missions and the like. This was the life she had signed up for and she’d had no illusions about what it was like. Or what her part in it was.

She turned to Bruce and gave him the most genuine smile she could muster. “The kids are already with Jane and Thor. Why don’t we go for a drive up to your cabin? We can spend the afternoon and evening and come back in time for the meeting tomorrow.”

He huffed out a breath that as almost certainly the end of a conversation with the Hulk and looked down at her. “Violet.”

“It is what it is,” she said. “We don’t need Hawaii. We don’t need anything. You’re my husband and I’m your wife and we have the rest of our lives to go on trips together. This is important for your team. It’s bad timing, but it’s no one’s fault.”

He studied her another moment, then smiled a little. “I think an evening at the cabin sounds just perfect.”

“Good,” she said with a little nod before turning back to Sharon. “Can you let Jane and Thor know the change of plans? I think the kids will still stay the night with them, since God knows when we’ll be back.”

Sharon looked like a weight had been taken off her shoulders and her smile was very relieved. “I will pass on the message. Mrs. Banner.”

Violet beamed up at Bruce, who was now smiling in earnest. “I do like the sound of that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The gang will return in our Civil War story _Truth is Marching On_ coming August 26th, 2016.


End file.
